Danger in the Unknown
by middiegurl08
Summary: There is a new doctor at General Hospital. She seems really shy and keeps to herself a lot, but slowly she is coming out of her shell. As time goes on and as she starts to get to know her colleagues better, they start to notice unexplained injuries and br
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: I was sitting in my room last night and I heard this song, which really wouldn't fit SCRUBS in anyway, and this idea popped into my head. I sat and sat and sat trying to forget it but I couldn't and I'm crazy and writing another story. But I hope you guys enjoy this and I hope I write it well enough for you guys. 

Having said that, I am changing some things about this story? Robin isn't going to have HIV just because I think I'll stick with one serious topic at a time and I think it will make the story flow better. Not to mention that you learn in the first chapter that she has just moved to PC, so nothing with Stone or Jason has happened. Robin hasn't been to town before, Patrick is still the neurosurgeon but I think I'm going to change his attitude a bit. He's still going to be his cocky self but it's not going to be so obvious. I think that is about it for now. If I think of anything else I'll let you guys know.

Summary: There is a new doctor at General Hospital. She seems really shy and keeps to herself a lot, but slowly she is coming out of her shell. As time goes on and as she starts to get to know her colleagues better, they start to notice unexplained injuries and bruises. What happens when her colleagues catch on to what is happening to her? Will her secret be revealed? And how will Patrick Drake, her closest friend at the hospital, react?

P.S. The first chapter is pretty uneventful but it's building up the relationships, meeting each other for the first time. Oh and remember that feedback is my friend.

Yall ready? Here we go again…

--  
**Danger in the Unknown**

Chapter One:

The elevator rose from one floor to the next, seemingly taking hours and not merely seconds. Yet another first day at yet another hospital, in a new town. It was quickly becoming their routine. Hell, they hadn't finished unpacking in the last town they were in before they were loading up the car again. Maybe things would be different here? Maybe things would be better?

The elevator slowed and stopped, the doors slid open slowly revealing the calmest hospital atmosphere she had ever seen. Definitely a change from the other hospitals she had worked at. Consciously she ran her hands over her outfit smoothing any imperfections, fluffed her hair, and ran a finger around her lips fixing her lip gloss. Up ahead, standing behind the desk was a petite brunette dressed in a pair of pink scrubs, her hair pulled back into a messy ponytail. 'Here goes nothing.' She thought as she approached the brunette.

"Can I help you?" She smiled and asked cheerfully.

"Uh, yeah. I think this is the right floor. I'm Robin. Robin Scorpio. I'm supposed to be starting work here today."

"So you're the new doctor we have heard so much about!" Her smile grew and she extended her hand. "I'm Elizabeth Spencer."

"It's nice to meet you." Robin smiled slightly. 'There really isn't much reason to learn names; we probably won't be here very long.' Robin said to herself.

"Nurse Spencer, Mr. Thomas in 412 needs a new IV." Another woman said, walking up behind them. 

"Epiphany, this is Robin Scorpio. The new doctor who is going to give Patrick a run for his money." Her eyes twinkled and her smile grew even larger, if that were possible, when she told this to… Epiphany?

Epiphany gave a small smile, "It's nice to meet you doctor. My name is Epiphany Johnson and we will be working closely together." She paused for a moment looking for a chart. "I am a very simple lady, I like to have fun but when it's time to work, it's time to work." Her eyes rose to meet Robin's. "It's nice meeting you." Turning to Elizabeth she said, "She Dr. Scorpio around a bit and introduce her to everyone." Her eyebrows rose at 'everyone.' "I'll take care of Mr. Thomas' IV."

"She certainly is intimidating, isn't she?" Liz asked as they began walking down the hallway. "She really isn't that bad, she is just serious when it comes to her job. You saw how quiet it was back there, that's her. She keeps the doctors on their toes and the patients get through faster." She paused in front of a door before pushing it and walking in. "She one of the strongest, courageous women I know. She was a single mother and still managed to put her son through college." Elizabeth sighed and motioned around her. "Well this is the locker room and this is your locker; nothing too special. You'll want to come in here and change at the beginning and the end of your shift. You'll want to take an occasional shower and they are through that door. And when you are working double shifts or something, there is a napping room through there for the doctors."

Robin nodded shyly as she moved past Elizabeth and opened the door. Placing her purse inside, she closed the door and turned to Elizabeth to finish their tour.

"So what brings you to Port Charles?" Elizabeth asked once they were back in the hallway and headed to their next destination.

Robin shrugged, "Just looking for a change of scenery."

Elizabeth nodded, "Port Charles isn't exactly most people's choice for a change. We're a small town but we have the crime and danger of New York City. But," she continued, "It doesn't really touch you unless you get involved with that world and those people. Which I suggest not doing…"

"We're just looking for a change, something different."

"We?"

"Yeah…" Robin suddenly grew uncomfortable. "Me and my boyfriend Johnathon."

"Aw, that's nice. I'm sure I'll meet him eventually. Port Charles is still a small town no matter what the citizens happen to be doing; we still know everyone and everything that happens in their life." She smiled, "Which isn't always a good thing."

'No, that definitely isn't a good thing.' Robin thought to herself. 

"Hello ladies." A strong male voice came from behind him.

"Good morning, Dr. Drake." Elizabeth replied. "This is that new doctor we heard about, Robin Scorpio." She introduced the two.

"It's nice to finally meet the competition." He smiled and offered his hand.

'He is gorgeous.' Robin thought. And he was. He was at least a foot, maybe two, taller that she was and his smile… She could tell he was in shape and strong by his grip on her hand and those eyes… she could get lost in those eyes. "Nice to meet you." She managed.

"Will you be joining me in the operating room today?"

"Uh, I'm not sure. I haven't met with Alan Quartermaine yet…"

"Alright. Well it was nice meeting you." His attention shifted to Elizabeth, giving orders on a patient. He smiled slyly at Robin before turning and walking away. It was Elizabeth's voice that brought her back to reality. "My goodness, that man is fine." She giggled and sighed. "Sometimes it's a shame that I'm married."

--

By the end of her eight hour shift, Robin had been thrown up on, sutured a knife wound, almost killed a patient, and helped save a life. The latter having just been in the operating room with Patrick Drake; an operation that she was only supposed to observe. But when she noticed the change on the monitor and no one seemed to, she had to speak up. It was here job to save him.

The two walked down the hall smiling and deep in conversation, stopping in front of the waiting area. "Seriously, that was a great save in there. If it hadn't been for you we would have lost him."

Robin blushed and bowed her head. "It was nothing. I was just doing my job." 

"Don't look now but I think Patrick has a crush." Elizabeth smiled, walking up behind Epiphany. "Look how he is standing, leaning toward her."

"It looks like this Dr. Scorpio is going to give Dr. Drake a run for his money is more ways than one." Epiphany commented.

"She says she is in a relationship with some guys named Johnathon but it's obvious she is attracted to Patrick. Look at that blush on her cheeks and she is shuffling her feet."

Epiphany shook her head, smiling, "As long as it doesn't affect the patient care, whatever they do or don't do is up to them." She glanced in their direction and smiled before grabbing a few charts and walking away.

"What do you say we get some dinner? Celebrate the completion of your first day and that great save?" Patrick offered and flashed that smile with that dimple…

Robin's own smile faded and she took a quick step back. "I-I can't…" She stammered. "I-uh- I am with somebody."

"Oh well, some other time the." He turned to walk away. "I'll see you tomorrow Dr. Scorpio."

She watched him walk away, her stomach doing flips. He had just asked her out and she turned him down. That gorgeous man wanted to have dinner with her and she wanted so badly to accept but she knew what would be waiting for her at home if she was late, what was already waiting for her. But not even that could wipe the smile off her face as she headed back from the locker room fresh out of her scrubs and back in her normal clothing. "Goodnight Elizabeth. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight Dr. Scorpio." Elizabeth smiled knowingly. "See you tomorrow."

Today had gone surprisingly easy. There had been a couple mishaps but it was only her first day, which was to be expected. And for once, she wasn't treated like the outcast; she was welcomed with open arms. 'Maybe this wouldn't be half bad,' Robin smiled and waved as the doors slid closed and she headed home.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note: Thank you to those of you who left some feedback. I know the last chapter was pretty boring but it was necessary to get the story started. The first chapter normally isn't the most fascinating anyway. Again, this chapter is kind of slow but you really get a look into Robin's life and her feelings so I hope you guys like it. Please leave me some feedback!

Oh and I said I was going to be changing some things and one thing I am changing is Justus's death. He is still alive and kicking. I personally was mad they killed him and then we didn't get a funeral. So in my little world and in my head, he is still alive. And as you probably saw from the last chapter, Patrick isn't going to be his usual jerky self. He's still going to have a certain reputation but it's not going to be as bad and he is still going to be cocky but again, it's not going to be as bad as on the show.

Summary: There is a new doctor at General Hospital. She seems really shy and keeps to herself a lot, but slowly she is coming out of her shell. As time goes on and as she starts to get to know her colleagues better, they start to notice unexplained injuries and bruises. What happens when her colleagues catch on to what is happening to her? Will her secret be revealed? And how will Patrick Drake, her closest friend at the hospital, react?

Okay… enough jabbering. Onto the chapter…

--  
**Danger in the Unknown**

Chapter Two:

"Ouch, that look like it hurt." Elizabeth grimaced, pointing at Robin's now bandaged hand.

"Oh this? It's was nothing." Robin tried to play it off before shrinking into herself and remember what really happened the night before.

_She took a deep breath before opening the door to the inevitable, to what she came home to everyday. It didn't matter what town or what apartment, it never changed. She turned the knob and pushed the door open as quietly as possible and of course found him in his favorite spot; lying on the couch, a beer in one hand and the TV remote in the other. He didn't even make any move to welcome her home; his full attention on whatever garbage was TV._

"I'm home." She said quietly, trying to hide the happiness she now felt everyday when coming home from work. For the first time in a really long time, she was enjoying her job and the people that she was working with. Still he didn't make a move. She gave a heavy sigh, losing her high that she had just moments before and grabbed the trash can from the kitchen, beginning her nightly routine of cleaning up after him.

"Leave it." He finally spoke, and when she continued cleaning despite his words, he was standing at her side breathing down her neck in a second. "I said leave it." Not wanting to make the situation worse, she dropped what she was holding in her hands in the trash and turned to walk away. "Don't walk away from me when I am talking to you." He grabbed her wrist, bending it backward to make her face him. "What happened today that has you so open to defy me?"

She fought to keep the tears at bay, the pain in her wrist growing unbearable. So many times they had had this same argument. "Nothing happened." She managed through gritted teeth.

"Good." He spat. "I would hate to have to move again…" He ran his finger along the edge of her chin and down her neck.

"It wouldn't be smart to move so soon. Not after only my first day, people would suspect something…"

The fire was in his eyes again in a matter of moments. "Who would suspect anything? It was only your first day. None of those people care about you." His grip on her wrist tightened, if it were even possible. "You better not be talking to anyone. If I find out you are…"

"I'm not. I swear. No one knows a thing." She winced in pain. "Please let me go."

"Robin? Robin?" Elizabeth snapped her fingers in front of her face. "Robin, are you okay?" Her normally smiling face was now covered in concern.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine. I just slammed it in a door." She tried to act nonchalant.

"Where did you go just now?"

"Oh, I was just thinking about one of my patients." She had lied so much and so often it came easy to her now. She never had to think about it and she almost always convinced whoever she was talking to that it was the truth. It was the times that she couldn't convince people that trouble broke out and they ended up moving.

"Are you sure?" Robin nodded. "Well do you want to have lunch with me at Kelly's? My treat?" Elizabeth offered.

"Kelly's?"

Elizabeth's jaw dropped. "Kelly's is only the best diner in all of Port Charles." She smiled. "It has the best food and I'm telling' you, I think everyone in this town has worked there at one point in their life. What do you say?"

"I don't know…" Robin said skeptically. "I have a lot of paperwork that needs to be finished." She resorted to lying once again.

"Don't be silly." Elizabeth ignored her ignored her excuse. "You have to eat sometime."

Robin cold never tell Elizabeth just how much she envied her life. She didn't know her too well yet but she knew she was married with a little boy, and this job was their only lifeline right now. But yet she never stopped smiling. She was always trying to make someone else's life better and make them smile. As much as she wanted to get to know this woman more, she was afraid of what would happen if she did. It was her inability to keep her personal life a secret that caused them to move so much, so often and why things only continued to get worse.

"Alright…" She caved, temporarily not caring what the 'consequences' would be later. She had to be sociable and friendly. That was part of the reason things changed so quickly last time. Everyone would start suspecting… and she didn't want that to happen did she? Right?

--

"Robin, this is Emily and Lainey. Emily is also a new doctor at GH, she just finished medical school. And Lainey is a psychologist." Elizabeth explained as she introduced them and they took their seats.

"It's nice to meet you both." She smiled at them. They seemed nice nough.

"So you're the one who pulled out that amazing save in Patrick's OR yesterday." Emily smiled. "He hasn't stopped talking about it all day. He was really impressed." She raised her eyes, giving a mischievous smile.

"Patrick, impressed? Please. The only person Patrick is impressed with is his reflection in the mirror." Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "BUT don't think I didn't see the two of you talking yesterday…" Her focus was now also on Robin, staring at her expectantly.

Robin looked around at the three women. "What? You think something is going on? I work with him, we're colleagues and I only met him yesterday…"

"Yeah... that's a good excuse." Lainey smiled. "He will have you roped in, in no time. He is Patrick Drake. He has a special way with the ladies, to say the least."

Elizabeth nodded. "He has somewhat of a reputation for being a player and he doesn't bother trying to hide it but he really is a nice guy."

"And a damn good surgeon." Emily added.

"And gorgeous."

It took no time at all for the four women to get acquainted. They were laughing and joking, having a good time. For Robin, it was the first time that she had been so welcome at a new hospital knowing that most times, these people have been working with each other for years and they usually weren't kind to new comers. And especially not in a small town.

"Elizabeth tells me that you are dating some guy named Jaime, Joshua…"

"Johnathon."

"Oh yes, Johnathon." Emily smiled. "How long have you guys been together?"

This was always where things took a bad turn. She wasn't very comfortable talking about him and that always shown through, and then began the suspicion. "Uh…" she thought for a minute. "I guess a little over a year." She didn't remember the exact date, not anymore. In the beginning, she remembered everything. Their first date, first kiss… everything. Now she _tried_ to forget it. She couldn't remember the last time they had gone out for dinner or even taken a picture together. What had started as a relationship full of possibilities was now the black cloud in her life that she wished would go away. She now regretted ever meeting the man and having any kind of feelings for him. Of course, those left a long time ago. Now she held no love or respect for him. Her heart was filled with hatred and pain…

"How did you meet?" Emily pressed on, not sensing her hesitance to speak on the topic.

"Uh… Through an old friend." She smiled shyly. That old 'friend' turned out to not be a friend at all. She knew about Johnathon's past and everything that he had been through as a child. She knew what he did when he got angry or drank too much. But yet, she still introduced them, she encouraged them…

"That's sweet." Lainey smiled. "I remember when I met Justus for the first time. He was at the hospital to see one of his clients and we came walking around the corner at the same time, slammed right into one another. Everything in my hands went all over the floor." She sighed heavenly. "I knew when our eyes locked that he was someone special."

"At least you guys have a memory of meeting the man you love." Emily stated. "I've known Nikolas ever since I was a little girl. I don't remember a time that I didn't know him."

"I know what you mean." Elizabeth agreed. "I am married to Lucky and Emily is married to Nikolas, and Lainey and Justus are getting married." She explained.

"When's the wedding?" Robin asked taking a bite of her salad.

"Well we haven't set an official date yet. We know it's going to be some time next summer and we're planning colors and flowers and everything like that. So eventually we will have to pick a date. We are going this weekend actually to look at places… so I guess we'll have to decide pretty soon." She smiled.

"What about you and Johnathon? Have you guys ever talked about marriage?" Emily smiled.

Robin stopped chewing, her stomach falling, and her heart speeding up. "I-uh- we've never really talked about it…" She said truthfully. But honestly, she never wanted to marry him. She never wanted to get married at all. If marriage was anything like her relationship now, she never wanted any part of it. That is what he had done to her. All of the dreams she had as a little girl disappeared when she started seeing him. She never wanted to get married, never wanted to have kids. But if he ever decided he wanted to marry her, she would have no choice. She couldn't tell him no. "What-what time is it? Shouldn't we be getting back to the hospital?"

"We should all get together one night for dinner or something. All of us and our men." Lainey smiled. 

"That's a good idea. Sounds like fun." Emily agreed. 

"What do you say Robin?" Elizabeth nudged her in the arm.

"Huh? Oh yeah, great idea." She gave a false smile. 

'Looks like things wouldn't be lasting much longer here either…' She thought as the walked out the door and headed back to work.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's note: This chapter caused me a few issues but I can't play around with it anymore. Let's just say I'm not too happy with how this ended. But I hope you guys like this anyway. And thanks so much for the feedback so far! 

Summary: There is a new doctor at General Hospital. She seems really shy and keeps to herself a lot, but slowly she is coming out of her shell. As time goes on and as she starts to get to know her colleagues better, they start to notice unexplained injuries and bruises. What happens when she is brought in late one night by ambulance? Will her secret be revealed? And how will Patrick Drake, her closest friend at the hospital, react?

Okay… Onto the chapter…

--  
**Danger in the Unknown**

Chapter Three:

"Kelly's double chocolate ice cream brownie is definitely calling my name." Emily announced walking into the locker room and plopping on the bench in front of her locker.

"I'm right there with you." Elizabeth stated. "I just spent my entire morning in what was supposed to be an in-and-out surgery with Patrick."

"Just be happy you weren't in the emergency room. I just worked twelve hours straight and we were swamped for ten of those hours." Emily said, running a tired hand through her hair. "Apparently, there was some kind of mob fight and there were multiple gun shots wounds, stabbings..."

"Oh great," Lainey sighed, pulling her shirt over her head, "that just means I'll be swamped for the next couple of weeks listening to their wives complaining about the danger and terror they experience for being married to those idiots. Sometimes I just want to smack them and tell them to get over themselves and divorce the guy." She sank down on the bench next to Emily, laying her head on her shoulder. "I think I'll join you guys for that brownie."

"Hey guys!" Robin said cheerfully walking into the locker room with a huge smile on her face.

"What has you so happy?" Elizabeth asked slightly annoyed.

"Do I need a reason to be in a good mood? The sun is shining and the birds are chirping. What more could I ask for?" She shrugged.

"You're happy because birds are chirping?" Emily looked at her through tired eyes. "So that must mean I should be in a good mood because I have a root canal tomorrow."

Lainey giggled, "Why do I think this has something to do with a certain handsome doctor that we all happen to know has a massive crush on you?"

The ladies all stared at her, their eyebrows raised, waiting. "Will you guys please give it up already? Patrick Drake is not interested in me and even if he was, I am with someone." She got quieter as she spoke. She hated saying she was attached to the likes of a man like  
_him_...

"Oh come on! You're telling me that you wouldn't jump at the chance to be with Patrick if he asked you out?" Elizabeth asked not believing her. "Hell, I'm happily married and even I would do Patrick." She added.

"Me too."

"Me three."

"I didn't say he wasn't an attractive man." Robin smiled. "But I take relationships very seriously…" She couldn't even finish her thought. She was so sick of being fake and lying. She wasn't in love, she wasn't happy. And the truth was, if she could get out of the relationship safely, she would be gone in a heartbeat.

"Oh my god, Robin what happened?" Emily asked suddenly, motioning toward her side and back that was covered with a large bruise.

"It's nothing. I just fell out of bed the other night." Another lie. These were supposed to be her friends but she couldn't even tell them the truth. And how bad she wanted them to know the truth, she wanted to tell them. But things were going so well here. If she told them, word would get around and he would find out, and they would be gone before he could be arrested. Off to another town and another new job; forced to start over again.

The other three girls shared a look. None of them believed her. You didn't get a bruise that bad by falling out of bed. There was something more to the story…

"Are you sure you're okay?" Lainey questioned, concerning filling her eyes.

"I'm fine guys, honest."

She wasn't fooling anyone. "Okay then…" Emily glanced nervously at the other three women, "We're going to go to Kelly's. Do you want to come?"

Robin shook her head, "I have a few consults and some paperwork that I have been pushing off. You guys go and have fun." She waved as they walked out the door. She plopped down defeated on the bench, wiping at her eyes. There were only so many excuses and lies she could come up with to explain the bruises. They would eventually start piecing things together if they hadn't already.

On the other side of the door, Lainey, Emily, and Liz stood in silence waiting for one of them to voice what they all knew they were thinking. "That was not caused by falling out of bed." Liz finally said.

"Definitely not." Emily agreed. "But why would she lie and keep it from us? We're her friends…"

"It's what they do." Lainey started to explain. "Often times, the man has the woman so scared of what he could do to her if the truth got out. I just can't believe that I didn't notice this before. It's my job; I see it everyday." She shook her head in disappointment at herself.

"I think we all knew what was happening we just didn't want to think about it." Liz stated. "The question now is what we are going to do about it."

--

She ran a tired hand through her hair. The once cheerful women, happy to be living on such a wonderful day, had disappeared. For the last three hours she'd been sitting in the doctor's lounge working on her pile of charts that somehow managed to accumulate in just a couple weeks of work. She didn't even realize that she saw so many patients in one day… There was always a drawback to the career of your dreams and the paperwork seemed to be the negative in the equation.

"One of the many benefits of being a doctor." A deep male voice said from behind her.

She turned and found Dr. Drake staring at her over a cup of cold coffee. "I don't think it was ever mentioned the excess load of paperwork we would be expected to deal with medical school." They both relaxed, spending their time talking about the job; the one thing they were both comfortable.

"What do you say we grab some dinner? Nothing fancy, just the cafeteria." He smiled. "You know, that congratulatory dinner that we never had."

She wasn't going to let her opportunity slip by. He might not ask again. "Okay." She nodded shyly.

The two walked down the hall, receiving more than once curious look from the onlookers, but a large smile of Liz and Lainey who were coming off the elevator as the stepped on. "Have fun guys." Liz winked at her.

--

Time was flying by, laughter was a must. They had sat for the past hour and a half at a cafeteria table while Patrick confessed many of his embarrassing medical school stories. One involving super glue and one of his buddies, Steve. "Do you still stay in touch with you college friends?"

"We talk occasionally. A couple of them have settled down and started a family. The ones that haven't settled down still go out every night and party. I'm not into either one right now." He explained. "Don't get me wrong, I know how to have a good time but right now my main focus is my career."

She nodded her head in understanding. "Do you see yourself settling down sometime in the future?"

"I don't know." He replied honestly, taking a drink of his coffee. "When I was younger I always thought it was a possibility but I don't know anymore." 

"Why not? I mean, I know women fantasize about their future kids and husbands but men have to do that too. We all want to be happy and content. So why don't you think you'll get married." There was so much she wanted to know about him. He was so fascinating, he had so many stories and he could make her laugh; forget about reality for even just a little while.

He shook his head, his eyes glazing over and getting lost in his memories. "My parents were the ideal couple. They had the perfect life all the way down to the picket fence and the dog. It was just the three of us and even when I was a teenager and preparing to leave for college, they loved each as much as the day they got married." He took a deep breathe. "And when she died, my father lost it and I lost him. I saw the earth shattering love that the two shared and then I saw how her death ruined him and, "he shrugged, "I don't want to ever feel that pain." He waited for her to get that look in her eyes; that look of pity. But it never came.

"How old were you when she died?"

"I was about to turn eighteen and graduate high school." He hadn't talked about his mother freely for years. Not even to his closest friends who were there to fight through it with him. It was a topic that no one wanted to touch.

She thought a moment before telling him her story. "My mother died when I was younger too." Suddenly she couldn't look him in the eye. "She and my father loved each other as much as you say your parents did, but they lived a dangerous life. They were international spies." she waited for some kind of disbelief from him but he remained silent. "They were on search for a well known criminal in the islands and their boat exploded. My dad through himself into work, vowing to never give up until he found the man who killed his wife."

"Has he found him?"

She shook her head. "I don't think so. I only see him a couple of times a year. He will find me wherever I am and he'll sneak into town, see me for a few minutes and run back into hiding."

"My dad drowned himself in a bottle of boos. Every time I turned around he was calling me drunk and crying, apologizing for taking my mother away from me." He shook his head, wiping at his eyes. "She had a tumor and he was the operating surgeon. She wouldn't let anyone do the surgery except for him. She died on the table and instead of being a man, my father; he ran across the street and got trashed. I'll never forgive him for that. I had to find out that my mother died from an orderly."

"I'm sorry." She placed a hand over his.

"Anyway," he sat back, wiped at his eyes and gave her a smile. "How did we let the conversation get that serious?" She smiled at him and shook her head, still lost in her thoughts about her parents and now his. "So… who is your favorite musical artist?" He asked out of the blue.

"Well…" She was slowly coming out of her thoughts. "You're going to laugh at me but I'm actually a big fan of Rick Springfield."

"Are you serious?"

"I know, I know… Of all people…" She began."

"No. I love Rick Springfield. There's just something about 'Jesse's Girl' that puts you in a good mood; makes you smile." His smile was returning.

"What's your favorite movie?"

"Top Gun…"

"I feel the need, the need for speed!" The two said at the same time.

"I love that movie! 'Take my breath away…'" She burst into a fit of giggles. "Thank you Patrick."

"For what?" He smiled at her, watching the glow in her eyes and feeling the fluttering in his stomach.

"For taking what ending up being a pretty crappy day, and turning it back around and making it one of my best." If only, she didn't have to go home to _him_… They stood and she hugged him before she knew exactly what it was she was doing. She pulled away suddenly, "Uh, I'm sorry." She blushed. What was it about this guy that made her do and say some of the stupidest things?

"Thank you Dr. Scorpio." He said her name that special way, causing the butterflies to flip- flop in her stomach. "It's been a really long time since I have talked about my mother to anyone, even my father. It felt good to remember her again and to talk to someone who understands what I am going through."

"Anytime, Patrick. Anytime."


	4. Chapter 4

Author's note: Well first off, thank you guys for the continued interest in this story. I had part of it planned out but when I went to write this chapter I changed my mind and decided to write it differently. So I'm having a hard time writing this… But you guys and your feedback keeps me writing so thank you!

There is a Faith Hill song called "A Man's Home is His Castle" and although it's not the song that made me come up with this story, it's the song that kind of helped me with his chapter. If you've never heard it, I suggest listening to it. It's a great song!

**_Linda works the diner, pourin coffee, slingin hash  
She said, "I wouldn't have come in today  
But I really need the cash  
I know I can't fool anyone cause dark glasses tell no lies  
But make-up won't cover up a blackened eye"  
Oh oh oh no_**

You see Jimmy works construction now  
But yesterday it rained  
So he went down to the liquor store  
And by noon he felt no pain  
I came in an hour late, then I let his supper burn  
Well he hit the roof, hit the wall  
And then it was my turn

He said, "A man's home is castle  
It always has been and so it remains"  
But he holds the keys in a fist of rage  
His home is his castle  
And mine is a cage

Someone must have heard the noise and they dialed 911  
And the cop who showed up at the door asked,  
"Is there a problem son"  
Jimmy smiled and said "No sir, just a little fight that's all  
Hey you know how it gets sometimes  
When you're laying down the law"  
Oh oh oh no

So I pulled out my suitcase  
I started packin up my clothes  
And Jimmy said, "Now Linda, where do you  
Expect to go with those"  
I told him, "I have tried but no an ounce  
of love survives"  
Well he grabbed my wrist and shouted  
"You're not leaving here alive"

She said, "I'm saving up my money  
And when I get the nerve I'll run  
But Jim don't give up easily so I intend  
To buy a gun  
He will never see the way he treats me is a crime  
Somebody oughta lock him up  
But I'm the one who's done the time"

He said, "A man's home is castle  
It always has been and so it remains"  
But he holds the keys in a fist of rage  
His home is his castle  
And mine is a cage

Summary: There is a new doctor at General Hospital. She seems really shy and keeps to herself a lot, but slowly she is coming out of her shell. As time goes on and as she starts to get to know her colleagues better, they start to notice unexplained injuries and bruises. What happens when she is brought in late one night by ambulance? Will her secret be revealed? And how will Patrick Drake, her closest friend at the hospital, react?

--  
**Danger in the Unknown **

Chapter Four:

"What are we going to do?" Emily whispered. "I can't sit back and do nothing, she needs help."

Liz sighed heavily, "I think for right now we just need to watch her. Take note of any new, unexplained injuries. I know it seems unlikely but maybe, just maybe she is telling the truth about the bruise. We don't know…."

"Or maybe that's just what we want to believe." Emily added, "But how do you explain that bruise and the hurt arm? What about her limps that she doesn't think we notice or her flinches when we go to touch her?"

"But Liz is right. We can't pressure her or she might shrink into herself. She's still new in town and yes, we consider ourselves her friends but we haven't known her for more than a few weeks. She might not be comfortable with us knowing and…" She shook her head and sighed heavily, "But I agree that right now we shouldn't say or do anything. She has to want us to know and to come to us."

"Hey guys, what are you up to?" Robin asked as she walked up to the three at the Nurse's Station. She immediately noticed the tension between them.

"Uh…"

"Oh… umm."

"We were just talking about the nurse's ball." Emily spat out, grabbing the flyer that was sitting nearby on the desk. Cautiously they three women glanced around at one another; that was too close.

"Nurse's Ball?" Robin looked at them strangely, not believing entirely that they were talking about this event.

"That's what they were just explaining to me." Lainey stated. "You know, not all of us have grown up in this town." She smiled nervously at Emily and Liz. "

"What exactly is this thing? I saw some nurses laughing earlier, looking at the flyer but I didn't know what it was." Robin looked at the bright orange piece of paper in her hands. "Is it just for nurses?"

"Well, no." Emily and Liz shared a look. How were they going to take years of history and condense it into a short summary of this event? "The Nurse's Ball is an event that used to be thrown every year to raise money for the hospital and other organizations. The nurse's of course perform but it's open to the public really."

"But you have to plan the whole performance. Choreography, music… everything." Liz chimed in. "It really is a lot of fun. And it's a great way to get the town together. It's one of those nights where everyone can look past their differences and just have fun."

"Exactly." Emily nodded her head in agreement. "It's also a great way to make an idiot out of yourself."

"It's great for that!" The two giggled remembering many of their performances in the past.

"Well it sounds like a lot of fun and it's for a good cause." Lainey stated. "Why don't we perform?"

"What?" The other three women ask at the same time.

"Well, why not? We are four sexy women and it would be fun. The two of you both said it was for a good cause. What's a better reason than that to make a complete fool of yourself?" Lainey explained.

"I don't know…" Robin looked a little worried. How exactly could she pull this off?

"I think it's a great idea." Emily smiled. "I mean, come on… it's the first Nurse's Ball in years!"

"What do you say Rob? I'll do it, if you will." Liz offered.

_She stood in the kitchen, watching the water boil. He was in the other room waiting for his dinner that was already late. She would be sure to pay for that later._

She used to be so alive and smile all the time. And now she cried herself to sleep at night. She didn't want to ever come home.

Her whole body was stiff, the bruises that covered her back hurt from the slightest movement or touch. She wanted out. She wanted it over. When she was little her mind was filled with images of what the perfect man would be, how much they would love each other.

She was sick of being alone. She wanted to come home to a man who appreciated her, who would hold her in his arms at night and protect her from all of the dangers of the world. A man who smiled at the mere mention of her name. She wanted to feel comfortable in her own skin, and not constantly on edge.

He staggered into the kitchen, dragging his feet, his eyes still filled with sleep. He gave a sickening smile as he walked closer to her, pulled her to him and forcing his lips on hers. Most of the time, she fought back, she didn't want this; she didn't want him. But she had no strength. If she fought back he would get angry and he would hit her, beat her.

He pulled away suddenly, pulling her hair. "When I touch you, I expect a reaction." He said through gritted teeth.

The world around her blurred as he pushed her from one corner of the room to the other. He didn't care what she hit or where she landed. Soon she grew numb, not feeling the tight grip of his hand on her arm or the contact she made with the many surfaces. But there would be a reminder tomorrow when she looked in the mirror, there always was.

It never ended. There was no leaving, no getting out.

"Robin?" The three women called her name, trying to gain her attention all noticing that she seemed to be lost and she was shaking. "Robin?"

She jerked back to reality when she felt the hand come and rest on her arm. "Don't touch me!" She yanked her arm away, losing her balance. They tears weren't be held back any longer, they were flowing freely down her cheeks, her body shaking with fear.

Before she could hit the floor, she felt two strong arms lift her tiny body. For the first time in a long time, she felt safe. The arms, they were so gentle, so protecting. She was held so close to the warm body, feeding off the energy. She didn't care who saw her or what they thought, for that brief moment she was happy again, protected and no one could hurt her.

"Shh…" He soothed, rubbing his hand up and down her back, but she couldn't even feel that pain. "It's okay."

Hearing his voice brought her back to the present. She ripped herself from his arms and found herself staring up at the attractive dark haired man, Dr. Drake. All eyes were on her, all filled with worry. She lifted a shaking hand and wiped at her tears, running a hand through her hair. She picked up the files that managed to fall on the ground at her feet before glancing at the four people staring at her. "I-uh- I can't." She stammered and quickly made her exit.

The small crowd stood in silent shock before one finally spoke up. "What the hell just happened here?" Patrick questioned loudly.

"We have to do something." Emily spoke to no one in particular. "She is in pain."

"But what can we do? We don't have any proof. She isn't going to come out and tell us what is wrong with her." Elizabeth said sadly. "But I agree, we can't let this keep happening."

"What is happening? What is wrong with Robin?" Patrick asked worried. It was no secret that the man was attracted to the brunette. Everyone saw it, in both of their eyes, in the way they react to each other. But something was always holding her back, and he wasn't going to push. "Someone say something!" He thundered.

The three women stood silently. If they told him, there was no telling what he would do. Besides, they didn't have concrete proof as to what was really happening. They could be way off base. "Just leave it alone Patrick." Liz stated as the three girls walked away, silently.

He watched them go. His stomach tied in knots. Something wasn't right. They were keeping something from him and Robin's breakdown didn't help his fears at all. He could still feel her body so close to his, holding her in his arms. What he should have been enjoying, he couldn't. Her body had been wracking with tears and suddenly she pulled away from him, a look of pure terror displayed on her face and in her eyes.

He was going to find out what was going on. He would if it was the last thing he did.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: Thank you guys for the continued interest in this story. I had part of it planned out but when I went to write this chapter I changed my mind and decided to write it differently. So I'm having a hard time writing this… But you guys and your feedback keeps me going so thank you! But please forgive me if the chapters come slowly since I have changed some things and I have to re- plan most of this. Oh and remember, that not everything is always as it seems… And that I am extremely nervous about yall's reaction to this chapter. Just remember that as you read. Also, in this chapter it became apparent that both Mac and robin have the same last name since they are family on the show and all that. I should have changed her name to Devane but I'll admit, I forgot about it. So they do have the same last name but they are not related. It's just going to be a coincidence. But don't worry, Mac isn't leaving anytime soon.

**WARNING: This chapter is taking the topic to a whole new level. I don't know if this would be considered an "R" rating, but the beginning is kind of graphic. And the whole chapter deals with a huge topic. **

Summary: There is a new doctor at General Hospital. She seems really shy and keeps to herself a lot, but slowly she is coming out of her shell. As time goes on and as she starts to get to know her colleagues better, they start to notice unexplained injuries and bruises. What happens when she is brought in late one night by ambulance? Will her secret be revealed? And how will Patrick Drake, her closest friend at the hospital, react?

Okay, I think that's it...

--

**Danger in the Unknown**

Chapter Five:

Another late, lonely night.

She now sat at the kitchen table, playing with the now cold food on her plate. She wasn't even hungry, not now anyway. She had come home in less than an attractive mood after the scene at the hospital. What would they think of her now? Would they ask questions? What would she tell them? 

All thought disappeared however, when she opened the door and he was waiting for her.

_"Where have you been?" He walked around the corner from the living room._

"There was an emergency…" She began.

"Don't lie to me!" He thundered, stepping closer to her. "I called the hospital; they said you signed out almost an hour ago. Where were you?"

"I-uh- I…" She had no answer. Truth was, she just didn't want to come home. After everything that happened at the hospital she had some things that she needed to think about. At the time, the consequences didn't matter to her.

She knew it was coming but the sharp pain when his hand collided with her face still surprised her, taking her breath away and sending her back into the wall. The last place she wanted to be; stuck between his strong, tall form and the wall. 

He ripped her jacket from her body, her purse and keys falling to the floor at her feet. "Where were you!" He screamed once more but still she had no answer. It was all so familiar; she knew what was coming next. He pulled her body close to his, breathing in her face. She could smell the alcohol. "Who is he?"

"No one. There isn't anyone." She managed. She never looked him in the eye; never.

"Liar!" He gripped her wrist, twisting her body away from the wall and pushing her away from him. She backed away cautiously, making him angrier. "Bitch!" His large form was coming at her, fuming.

She reached the bottom of the stairs, falling backward on the uneven land. The impact knocking the breath out of her and it took her a moment to catch on to what was going on around her. She turned around, read to run but was stopped when his hand gripped her hair. "You won't get away from me! You will NEVER get away from me!"

Somehow she ended at the bottom of the stairs; he was on top of her. He ripped her blouse open exposing her chest. He forced himself on her, his body pushing on hers. "You want to screw around with some other guy…" He whispered in her ear. "You will be punished."

Her body shook with tears as he stood, running a hand over her forehead and down her cheek. She flinched at his touch; her veins growing cold.

The sobs overtook her body as she watched him walk up the chairs and disappear from sight.

Her body shook once more as the memories replayed over and over in her mind. She could still feel his body on top of hers, his breath on her skin, the satisfaction heard in his voice.

So many things he had done to her, so many times he beat her. But never had he forced himself upon her.

Raped… it was such an ugly term. But it was the truth. He raped her. 

Things were getting worse. He was taking more of a risk. But she could only take so much. Maybe if she just told someone? Maybe they would help her, get her away from him? What about the girls? It was no secret that they suspected something… What about Patrick? He has been nothing but kind and caring towards her since her first day. He understood her, they understood each other.

She threw the remaining food on her plate in the trash, her legs wobbling as she walked. Her body ached already from the new set of bruises that would make her body their home. Her wrist was sore once more and she limped when she walked.

It would all be over if she just told someone. The phone was on the wooden table in front of her. She just had to pick it up and punch in the numbers.

555- 0179…

The dial tone disappeared in her ear and the repeated ringing began. She should hang up, just hang up and forget this crazy idea.

"Hello?" The male voice came through clearly. Too Late.

She stammered, "Pa-Patrick?"

"Robin?" He asked surprised.

"Uh, yeah. I'm sorry, this was stupid. I'm sorry for bothering you." She spat out quickly.

"Robin, wait!" He said urgently through the phone. "Is something wrong?" He was still more than worried about her after the way she reacted to him earlier in the day.

Now was her chance, tell him what was going on. He would do something, he would protect her. "No. There is nothing wrong. This was a mistake…"

"Don't worry about it," he said nonchalantly, "what do you need?"

She didn't hear his footsteps behind her but stopped speaking when she felt the pressure of his hand on her arm, her body straightening. "Who are you talking to?" He asked through clenched teeth. She didn't bother replying, only ended the call, hanging up on Patrick. "Who are you talking to!" He pulled her from her seat, forcing her body to hit the wall behind him. "Were you talking to HIM?"

"I wasn't talking to anyone…" She tried to lie.

"Stop lying to me!" Her arms were behind her back as he came at her once more. She pushed the four buttons, placing the phone on the counter hoping he wouldn't notice. "How dare you call that bastard on MY phone!" He screamed, smacking her in the process.

"I didn't call anyone…" She remained. But the more she argued, the worse things would get.

He said nothing as he pulled her away from the counter and out of the kitchen. He pushed her into the corner as he proceeded to crash anything he could get his hands on, on the wall beside her head. "You are going to pay for lying to me." He said with a calm voice but his breathing was heavy.

"Please, I didn't call anyone. I swear." She was pleading with him. Normally she would sit back and take whatever he gave her but tonight she couldn't. Not after what happened earlier. She no longer knew what he was capable of.

Her outburst only seemed to do what she feared, make him even angrier. He grabbed the table next to the couch, lifting it about to throw it in her direction when a knock came at the door.

"Police! Open the door!"

His eyes flashed with anger, hatred… he would kill her before he let the cops get involved. "You bitch!" He dropped the table and lunged at her, trapping her body between him and the wall once more but this time she looked him dead in the eye. For the first time, she wasn't afraid. The police were on the other side of that door, now was her chance and she was going to take it. She was going to get away from him even if he attempted to kill her first. "You called the cops. You think they're going to save you?" He smiled sickly. "You'll be dead before," He punched her in the stomach; "I let them take me to jail."

She screamed as she fell to the ground. He kicked her in her side, her arms and legs, her face; anywhere he could make contact. "Help." She said barely above a whisper, the pain was too much.

"Shut the hell up." He hissed.

That was all it took. She stood quickly. Her adrenaline kicking in, "Help!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, her eyes locking with his mockingly. This was her chance to get away from him and she was going to take it. "Help me!"

Time slowed in her eyes as the door burst open and the group of men stormed through. He grabbed her by the hair, throwing her to the ground amongst the rubble of the broken furnishings. He began kicking her once more, harder than before. His beatings now caused because of the anger and because of the fear. There was no getting away this time.

Two men rushed at him, knocking him to the ground; he fought them all the way. "You're dead!" He yelled at her. "You will regret this you little bitch!"

She watched as he was practically carried out of the door as she remained behind, the men speechless from the sight in front of them. Her hair was a mess, her clothes ripped, she was bleeding and she had bruises everywhere. From the looks of things, if they hadn't arrived when they did, she wouldn't have lived to see another day.

A tall, curly haired man stood close to her, whispering reassurances but she heard nothing. It was over finally, he was going to pay for what he had done to her all of these years. Her body shook and the tears came, but for the first time, not tears of sadness and pain but tears of joy. The nightmare was over.

"Here let me help you." The tall man said and placed his hand on her arm, trying to help her stand.

"Don't touch me!" She screamed and scooted away from him as she came back to reality. Her body shook as she wrapped her arms around herself as tight as possible. The fear was still there.

"Okay, I won't touch you. We're just here to help you, we won't hurt you." He reassured her. "I'm Mac Scorpio, the police commissioner."


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: I have had this chapter written and I'm pretty happy with some parts and not others but I'm not going to change anymore of it. Thank you all for your continued reviews. They mean so much!

Summary: There is a new doctor at General Hospital. She seems really shy and keeps to herself a lot, but slowly she is coming out of her shell. As time goes on and as she starts to get to know her colleagues better, they start to notice unexplained injuries and bruises. What happens when she is brought in late one night by ambulance? Will her secret be revealed? And how will Patrick Drake, her closest friend at the hospital, react?

--

Danger in the Unknown

Chapter Six:

She sat in the tiny room, hidden away from the world outside. Her mind still raced with the night's events, her body continuing to shake. She was wrapped in a blanket and had been checked out by an EMT. Bandages now covered her face and arms. Part of her finally felt like she was safe, like the terror was gone from her life but she knew that he was somewhere in this very building. She knew that somewhere he was pacing back and forth, thinking of new ways to make her pay. And if he ever got out, he would do just that; make her pay for "betraying" him.

She refused to go to the hospital. She worked there and she would eventually have to face all of them but not tonight. Tonight, she didn't want to have to explain everything that happened and feel their stares of pity. The stares of guilt because they didn't suspect anything or if they did, they didn't do anything to stop it.

"Ms. Scorpio…" The tall, curly haired man said as he walked into the room, his office, and handed her a cup of water. He noticed that she made sure not to touch his fingers with her own. "I know this is going to be hard but we really need to know what happened."

Her eyes never rose to meet his, she was too ashamed. She heard the pity in his voice, she knew he felt sorry for her and that was the last thing that she wanted. She was a strong woman; she'd dealt with the abuse for years. She didn't need anyone to take that away from her. She could take care of herself… "Do I-uh- do I have to do this tonight?" She asked softly.

"Uh, no. We can wait and get your statement in the morning." He said quietly, "Do you have somewhere to go tonight? It wouldn't be the best idea to go back to that apartment…"

She grew worried suddenly. She didn't have anywhere to go, only the apartment. "I don't have anywhere to go." She said sadly, the tears returning.

"Do you have any family in town or any friends who could take you in for the night?"

She could call Emily, Liz, or Lainey but then she would have to explain to them what happened. Liz had Cameron and Lucky, Emily had Nikolas, and Lainey had Justus. Too many people. And obviously, she didn't have any family in town… "Do you have a phone I can use?"

--

"I'm here for Robin Scorpio." He told the officer behind the desk who looked at him only briefly.

There was a great look of sadness in the shorter man's eyes as he spoke, "Right this way, man."

--

She now sat at one of the officer's desks, waiting. Maybe she made a mistake… She was letting her mind wander, her thoughts. She felt their eyes on her, bearing into her back. She heard their whispers, "It was bad, man. The place was trashed. She won't let anyone touch her." The tears threatened to fall once more, unable to escape the memories.

--

"Be careful when approaching her." The officer instructed. "She is very on edge and she hasn't let anyone touch her." He explained, looking at the tall man before him. He only hoped that he could help the tiny woman.

"What happened?"

The cops shook his head, his face growing red with anger, "Her boyfriend… I just don't understand how any man could do that to a woman."

--

She looked up just as he walked through the doorway, all eyes on him, knowing exactly who he was.

He was at her side in seconds. Her appearance taking him back slightly, she looked nothing like the professional he saw everyday. He wanted to touch her, comfort her, let her know she was safe now. "Are you okay?" He asked softly, crouching down to look her in the eyes.

She said nothing and stared into his eyes, seeing the worry and the caring. Carefully he rest his hand on hers lying in her lap and when she didn't pull away he relaxed. So did she as she wrapped her arms around his neck and cried. He held her as her body wracked with tears, trying to reassure her; wrapping his own arms around her tiny frame. "Thank you for coming." She whispered between sobs.

"Shh, don't worry about that right now." He rubbed her back gently knowing now that she was bruised pretty badly all over her body.

"Will you take me home?"

He nodded and they stood, her head turned away from the prying eyes. He wrapped his arms around her waist and nodded at the commissioner before walking her out the door.

--

He pushed the door open and walked with her into his apartment. She was once again right at his side, her arm was wrapped around his waist and her eyes were focused on the floor, while her head rested on his chest.

"It's not much," he said and threw his keys on the table by the door, "but it works."

She said nothing in the car, holding his hand the entire way and when they reached the parking lot she pressed herself next to him. The silence continued as she lifted her head slightly and took in her surroundings. For being a bachelor pad, it wasn't badly decorated and it was surprisingly neat.

Slowly she stepped away from him, suddenly feeling awkward, and walked around the room. Noticing her sudden change in mood he said, "You can stay here as long as you need or want to…"

"I'm sorry for dragging you into this." She said softly, sitting on the edge of the couch cushion, her eyes focused on her hands.

"Hey, you needed someone and I was there. That's what friends are for." He said gently, sitting next to her. "I just wish you had told me sooner." His voice turned sad as he looked over her facial bruises and her arms.

She said nothing but hugged him, feeling safe in someone's arms for the first time in a really long time. That was why she called him. He wouldn't judge her and if she didn't want to talk about it, he wouldn't make her.

"Do you want anything to eat or to drink?" He asked when they pulled apart.

She shook her head, "I think I just want to get some sleep." She added to her comment by yawning.

"Okay, come on. You can take my bed." He stood.

"I can't do that. I'll just sleep on the couch." She said shyly.

"You are my guest so you will take my bed." He smiled and walked away, climbing the stairs.

She followed closely behind, feeling completely comfortable. She felt guilty for dragging him into her problems and kicking him out of his own bed, and invading his privacy. But as guilty as she felt part of her felt happy. It was strange really but it was the truth. Maybe it wasn't really happiness but content. She hadn't been safe, away from the danger in such a long time and it was a relief to feel nothing at the moment. Yeah, that was it… relief.

"Here," he handed her a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, "you can use these to sleep in. The bathroom is through that door. There is an extra toothbrush in the cabinet and towels, if you want to take a shower, in the closet in the hall." He told her the basics. She sat on the bed looking up at him with tears in her eyes. "Hey, what's wrong?" He crouched in front of her like before, "Was it something I said or did?"

"It's not like that." She said shyly, slightly blushing. "All of this, it's too much. Thank you." She said sincerely, her eyes bearing into his.

They fit so perfectly together, her arms around his neck and his around her waist. So many times he wanted to ask her out, go out on a date with her but she always said she had a boyfriend. Now to see what that man did to her… it made his blood boil. He better hope that they never crossed paths… He ran a hand up and down her back, feeling her tense slightly under his touch. "Will-will you let me look at your bruises?" He asked as the pulled back. "I know you were checked out at the station and if they looked at them then I'll take your word that you're okay…"

She nodded and they both stood. He helped her pull the shirt over her head, the pain almost unbearable for her. He felt his stomach turning at the sight of all the dark spots that colored her tanned skin. Mixtures of colors; black, blue, purple, green, yellow… He ran a gentle hand over her arms and sides making sure nothing was broken. He cringed at all of the hard knots he felt below the different colored spots. When she turned around, her back facing him, he felt tears prick at the back of his eyes. There were the same dark spots, all different colors, mixed with dried spots of blood. He helped her onto her stomach in bed, leaving for a moment and returning seconds later with a wet rag. He carefully ran the cloth over her back, once again making sure nothing was broken.

When he completely finished he asked cautiously, "Will-uh- will you take off your pants?" She could draw the line here and he would completely understand and he would hold nothing against her. But when she stood slowly, their eyes locked and she lowered the black material before sitting once more and pulling them off entirely. She lay back once again and watched as he ran the rag over her legs, completely focused on the task at hand. Even when he asked her to turn over and she obliged, she kept her eyes on him.

"Did you ever know that you lick your lips when you are nervous or fully concentrating on something?" She asked after she was dressed in the pajamas he offered and sitting next to him on the bed.

He blushed slightly, "Epiphany tells me that too."

"Epiphany is a very smart woman." She gave a genuine smile.

"Well, I think you're set for the night." He stood and she scooted so she was leaning against the head board. "There is some aspirin in the top drawer if you are in any pain." He rubbed his hands together nervously. "And I'll be downstairs if you need anything."

"I mean it Patrick, thank you for everything."

He nodded classily and turned off the light as he walked out the door and shut it behind him. Once downstairs he sat in the silent living room, his mind roaming back to his exploration of her body and wounds inflicted by that sorry excuse for a man. She was the strongest woman that he had ever met, she had her secrets and her low points but she was purely amazing. No one deserved that kind of treatment, no one. But especially not someone like her.

One thing was for sure… if that man ever showed his face again or tried to come near her, he was a dead man.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: Thanks again for the feedback. I love it all so much and I am glad so many of you are actually enjoying this. I was and still am a little worried when writing and posting each of these chapters. So thanks!

Summary: There is a new doctor at General Hospital. She seems really shy and keeps to herself a lot, but slowly she is coming out of her shell. As time goes on and as she starts to get to know her colleagues better, they start to notice unexplained injuries and bruises. What happens when she is brought in late one night by ambulance? Will her secret be revealed? And how will Patrick Drake, her closest friend at the hospital, react?

--

Danger in the Unknown

Chapter Seven:

He didn't sleep much the night before. His thoughts were consumed with the images of her beaten and bruised body and the thoughts of what that bastard had done to her. He was fairly certain that he'd walked every inch of this apartment. When he wasn't downstairs dealing with his own thoughts and feelings as of late, he was upstairs with her trying to fight away her nightmares. Her body shook from the fear, her face covered in perspiration. Once she was relaxed and falling back to sleep, he stood in the doorway watching her. Her face so peaceful, her chest rising and falling with everyone of her tiny breaths...

There was just no excuse for the pain he inflicted, no reason at all.

Now he stood in his kitchen, standing over the stove, getting lost in his own reality for a few moments. This wasn't exactly how he expected to grow closer to the woman and although this wasn't under the best circumstances, he couldn't ignore how right it felt to hold her last night when she cried and how right it felt to take care of her. It was no secret that he was attracted to the woman upstairs sleeping but there was more to it now. Now, he felt like it was his obligation to help her, he had to protect her. If nothing else came out of all of this, at the very least she trusted him. That was shown in her actions the night before. After such a terrible ordeal, she trusted him enough to call him and only him, and let him take care of her.

But where did they go from here? Was she going to stay with him or go back to her apartment? If she stayed longer, would he be able to watch her leave? Was it wrong that he hoped their relationship grew from here? There were so many questions… and not enough answers. He certainly wasn't going to pressure her to open up to him, possibly be with him. He wouldn't do anything to jeopardize the trust she had in him.

--

She woke to the smell of bacon and eggs wafting through the apartment. Stretching her arms over her head, she yawned and smiled. She hadn't slept the best but despite the nightmares, she felt safe with Patrick and that was the best feeling at the moment. She knew she wasn't exactly ready to jump into a relationship, but there was always the possibility and she couldn't deny the attraction shared between them. The way he was with her last night, the way he cared for her only made the attraction stronger. She trusted him; she knew he would take care of her.

The statement couldn't have been proven truer than when she walked into the kitchen and he was making breakfast. The smile came involuntarily as she said, "You didn't have to make me breakfast."

"I wanted to." He gave her a sly smile, "I'm actually quite the chef. Here, taste this."

She walked to his side, accepting the little amount of food on the spoon as he place it on the edge of her lips, "That's really good."

"That's my mom's secret recipe for gravy." He corrected her. "Why do you sound so surprised?"

"I don't know, I guess I just never thought of you as the cooking type. I just figured you ordered in every night. The typical bachelor…"

"Nope, I actually really enjoy cooking." He revealed, turning his attention back to the food. "It just loses some of its appeal when you are only cooking for one."

"You better be careful, I just might get used to this special treatment." She said playfully as she took her place at the table.

She was definitely in a better place today.

The whole scene was like perfection, it seemed right. He placed two plates on the table, next to each other, while she poured them each a glass of orange juice and took her seat beside him. They ate in a comfortable silence with the occasional comment about the food coming from Robin. Both were completely content with saying nothing and just enjoying the moment together.

This felt right.

"I-uh- I don't want you to get mad or anything but I called Alan to let him know what is going on." He didn't look at her, afraid of her reaction. "I know it wasn't exactly my place and it's your business but I didn't think you would want to go in and deal with everyone. If I was wrong, you can call him and let him know you'll be in. but Alan is a great guy and he won't tell anyone, anything…" He spat out quickly so as to not get her angry.

"Patrick, really, it's fine. You're right; I don't want to deal with that. Thank you." She reassured him, "There is still so much that I have to do…"

"They want you at the police station this morning to give your statement." He said cautiously.

She nodded, "Will you go with me?" She asked but continued when she realized how selfish, at least to her, it seemed to be. "I mean, if you don't have to work or if you don't have any other plans."

"If you want me there, that is where I will be." Their eyes locked and they both blushed, looking away. "And I don't go back to work for a few days either. Alan knows that you are staying here with me so he let me take a few days off as well."

"Everyone is going to be talking about me…" She really loved working at General Hospital and the people that worked there, but it was gossip central. Everyone knew everything about everyone else. "They will stare at me and talk behind my back, thinking I don't hear their whispers. I will get offers from the psychologists on staff, 'If I ever need to talk.'" She shook her head sadly, "It happens every time."

How many times had her secret been found out and no one did anything about it? "How- why wasn't anything ever done?"

"We moved every time." She said, surprising herself with how quickly and easily she talked about this with him. "I couldn't exactly tell him no and that I wasn't going." She continued, "We always left before the police were involved." Her voice softened more and more with every word said.

What did he say to that exactly? This obviously wasn't something she talked about with many people but he didn't really know how to handle this without offending her.

"I'm sorry; I shouldn't have said all of that." She stated when noticing his uncomfortable stance.

"No, no it's…" He stammered, "I don't know what to say sometimes. I-I can't imagine all of the hell you have been through… I want to make you feel safe and I want you to know that I'm here and I will listen anytime you need to talk, about anything. I just might not always know what the right thing is that needs to be said."

"I know that this isn't exactly what you expected when we started to get to know each other and I'm probably thrown a huge glitch into your life. I just want you to know how much all of this means to me, and I will be out of your hair as soon as possible…" She rambled on.

"What? No, this is the last thing I meant. You are not doing anything to my life but making it better," he let slip but continued on, "and you can stay here as long as you need to. It's really no problem at all."

"I really just want to take it one day at a time."

--

They stopped briefly outside the door, her hands and legs shaking. Was she ready for this? She was positive that the living room was still destroyed. Was she ready to face the memories, relive the events of the night before? "Are you sure you're ready for this?"

He asked softly, standing at her side. "If you want me to go in for you, I will."

"No, I need to do this." And it was the truth, she had to face this one last time so she could move on.

He opened the door, placing his hand on her lower back as a sign of comfort and felt her tense slightly, and ushered her into the tiny hallway. Her keys and purse still lay where they had fallen and in the distance, pieces of broken glass could be seen. Slowly, she moved down the hall, her eyes focused on the stairs. Her mind was running through the scenes from last night, her body was mentally feeling the pain.

So many times she'd been thrown into this wall and that wall, feeling the hard surfaces of the tables and chairs… She was safe, she kept repeating over and over again in her mind. She felt him behind her, but it was different. With Johnathon, there was always a sense of fear; she could feel it in his presence. But with Patrick it wasn't the same. There was something so soothing about being near him.

"Are you okay?" He asked, trying to keep his distance and let her do this on her own. It was hard, especially feeling the way he was after seeing the mess of an apartment. He could only imagine what she was thinking.

"I-uh-I am going to go get some of my things from upstairs." She said already starting up the stairs.

"Do you want me to come with you?" But she was too lost in her thoughts to pay any attention to him. This just wasn't natural, no one was supposed to go through such pain, it wasn't right. And he was afraid she would pull away from him after today. Last night was pretty much one big blur, she had flashes and memories but sometime in the night she lost focus and wasn't sure what was real and what she'd dreamed. But being back here now, put everything into perspective; the "dreams" wouldn't just be dreams anymore.

The state of the apartment was surprising all on its own; making his stomach churn. Everywhere he looked, he just pictured her tiny body in the middle of it. With every glance he grew angrier and angrier. He just had to keep telling himself it was over now; he wasn't going to let anything happen to her.

"Are you ready?" He asked softly as she walked down the stairs. She nodded slowly, glancing around once more. "Do you need to talk about it?"

"Later." It was over, really over. She made her way back down the tiny all and out the door, never looking back. He grabbed the bags she left as his feet and walked out behind her.

--

"I told you everything that happened already…" She sighed and placed a tired hand over her face. They'd been at the police station for at least two hours talking to a less than thrilled officer. It was obvious he wasn't having the best of days and it was starting to show in his attitude, and Robin wasn't appreciating it too much.

"I know this isn't easy on you but if you want us to keep him behind bars and you want charges filed, then we need your statement," He glanced at Patrick, "Maybe it would be best if you wait outside."

"I'm only doing this if Patrick is here with me." She said firmly, grabbing his hand self- consciously.

"It's okay, I'm not going anywhere. Just be honest, tell them everything you know. The faster we get this over with, the quicker we can get home." It was strange how quick that term took charge. Home… Before it was only the apartment, the temporary place to sleep, but nothing more; nothing permanent.

"He's right. The faster we get moving, the quicker we can get this over with." The balding officer looked at her sympathetically, "Now what happened after you came home from work?"

"I was late getting home." She told him for what felt like the fiftieth time. "He was angry and he pinned me against the wall." The whole scene played over in her mind, she felt the pain coursing through her body just with the memories. "He-uh- he hit me a few times and threw me against the stairs. I tried to get away but he wouldn't let me." She refused to make eye contact and once again seemed only interested in her hands. "Later that night…"

"Wait, what happened after he threw you against the stairs?" The officer interrupted her.

"No-nothing."

"So nothing else happened after that? Nothing at all?"

"She already told you this, why are you antagonizing her?" Patrick interjected growing angry with every new tear that Robin cried.

"I'm just trying to get all of the facts and it just seems strange that it ended so subtly." The truth was, they found blood at the bottom of the stairs but after her examination the EMT saw nothing on her arms, face, or legs. They could only guess what really happen but considering her reaction to his questions, there wasn't guessing needed. "Okay, so later in the night…"

"He had already gone to bed and I was still awake. I was on the phone and he came downstairs and started beating me again." She didn't try to hide her tears this time. "I still had the phone in my hand and I called 911." Her body shook as she gripped the arms of the chair, her knuckles growing white. "He kept beating me, pushing me into walls and throwing things at me, I didn't think the cops were coming. I thought it was the end, I was-was going to-to die."

"What happened when the police got there?" The officer asked more gently this time.

"He got angrier. He had this look in his eye. He-he said he would kill me before they took him away. He just kept hitting me. I fell to the ground and he kicked me over and over… He wouldn't stop. The pain, it-it was like nothing I've ever felt before…"

Patrick shared a look with the officer, "Alright, I think that's all we need for now."

"He didn't ever need a reason to beat me, he just did. I was his property…" She spoke to no one in particular, only reliving the night over again in her memory.

Patrick rubbed circles on her back trying to soothe her while the officer asked one final question, "Just one more thing," He paused for a moment, "Did Johnathon ever sexually assault you?"


	8. Chapter 8

Danger in the Unknown

Chapter Eight:

_"Okay, one more thing. Did Johnathon ever sexually assault you?" _

_"Okay, I think that's enough." Patrick jumped in but Robin sat silently. _

_The officer persisted, "Did Johnathon ever sexually assault you?" _

_"I said that's enough." Patrick was practically yelling, everyone around staring at them now. _

_"Patrick, can you take me home?"_

_"Ms. Scorpio, please answer the question." The man didn't pay any attention to Patrick standing at his side and focused all his attention on the tiny woman before him. Her silence answered his question but he needed her to say it. She needed to know that this wasn't just going to disappear, that she didn't deserve it and it wasn't her fault._

_Patrick wrapped his arm around her waist, "Are we finished here?"_

_The cops remained focused on Robin but nodded his head defeated, "Yeah you can go. But if you remember anything else, call me." _

Silence filled the ride home; followed by the ride in the elevator and the walk down the hallway. Now they sat together in the living room, on separate ends of the couch. Neither was quite sure what to say. It was obvious to him that she was hiding something and it was obvious to her that he wanted to know what it was. They glanced at each other occasionally, looking away quickly when the other saw them.

Finally, Patrick broke the silence, "Do-do you want to talk about it?"

She sat in her thoughts for a moment, saying nothing but feeling his eyes weighing on her. "I met Johnathon through one of my friends a few years back." Robin began, "He seemed like the perfect guy. He made me laugh and feel safe and loved. I found myself falling in love with him and planning my future with him in it."

"Then what happened? Where did everything go wrong?"

"I don't know," She replied with her eyes full of tears. "Everything about him changed suddenly. He started pushing me away, we were growing apart and I was losing control."

"Wh-when did he hit you for the first time?"

"I honestly don't remember. I remember the very beginning of our relationship, how perfect everything seemed. I remember him pulling away from me but I honestly, I don't remember when the beating started." She wiped at the tears as they made their way down her cheeks. "For a long time I thought it would just stop and slowly, as time went on and it continued, I started thinking it was my fault. I had done something to deserve how he was treating me and then I started making excuses for him. He had a bad day at work, anything that would make him not responsible because I _knew_ he wasn't capable of hurting me on his own.

"He didn't have the best childhood. His father was in the military and they moved around a lot, he never really had many friends because they weren't in one place long enough. Even living on the military bases, they rarely saw his dad and when they did he was always drunk." Patrick sat silently, taking everything in hoping to find some understanding. "He was the typical military dad; he was tough and expected his son to be the same. Johnathon couldn't cry, ever; or show emotion. If he did, he was weak, a sissy and he looked up to his father, he wanted to be him so he did what he was told. He didn't want to be a disappointment."

"Was his father violent?"

Robin shook her head, "Not towards him but he beat his mom. His dad would be gone nights at a time doing whatever and then would come home drunk. His parents always fought… and when he was older he found out that his mom cheated on his dad which was the reason for their fights most of the time. He was young; he didn't know that it was wrong the way that his dad treated his mom. He didn't know until he was older and had relationships of his own.

"When we started dating, things were fine, we spent every bit of time that we had together, we were happy. But soon he started hitting me, and I don't remember when or why it started but it did, and it didn't stop. I started getting huge bruises and then I had a few broken bones, a limp when I walked but I still loved him and I thought he loved me."

Patrick scooted closer to her, rubbing his hand up and down her back. "He thought I was cheating on him." She finally said, "When I came in late… he thought I was cheating on him."

"And that was his biggest fear because of his parents." Patrick finally understood.

"That's why he was so angry that I was on the phone. He thought I was talking to the guy that I was supposedly cheating on him with." She explained shyly.

Everything suddenly became clear. "He thought you were cheating with me. I am the reason he hurt you…"

Her brown eyes shot up and met his, "No…"

"Yes," Patrick stood and faced her, "He hurt you because of me."

"I told him the truth, I told him that I wasn't cheating on him, that there wasn't anyone else but he didn't believe me." She stood beside him practically begging him to believe her, "This wasn't your fault. Please Patrick, please don't blame yourself."

He stood, hands on his hips. How could he ever forgive himself for what happened to her? How could he ever look at her the same way, knowing the destruction of the apartment and knowing that he played a part in that? "What happened when you got off the phone with me?"

"_Who are you talking to?" The fire raged in his eyes and she ended the phone call, "Who are you talking to?" He pulled her up by the arm, throwing her tiny body against the wall. "Were you talking to HIM?"_

"_I wasn't talking to anyone," She stammered, terrified._

"_Stop lying to me!" He came at her, "How dare you call that bastard on MY phone!" _

_He smacked her but she continued, "I didn't call anyone."_

"_You're going to pay for lying to me."_

"He screamed and he yelled, he hit me a few times…" She was shaking, losing all control of her body. "Patrick, please. For the first time in a long time, I feel safe. I don't feel like I need to look over my shoulder all the time. For the first time, I don't feel like I'm alone." She watched as he walked away from her, beginning to pace in the tiny area. "I think deep down, he knew I wasn't cheating on him but he felt me slipping away. I spent long hours at the hospital, meeting new people and started to enjoy my life again. He saw that, he saw the smile on my face everyday when I came home. For the first time, in a really long time, my life was actually looking up. While he was still stuck in his job where he wasn't going anywhere, and he would come home everyday to an empty house because I was at my job, doing what I love to do."

"You are amazing." He looked down at her, tears shining in his own eyes, "After everything that you just told me and everything that you have been through… and you're worried about what I think."

"I don't know what I would do if you weren't here. I probably would still be in that apartment with him. You gave me the strength to call the police, to finally take action." She took his large hand in her tiny one. "The other day at the hospital when you held me, I knew that you would be there for me for anything. That's why I called you last night. I knew that I could count on you."

He pulled her tiny body into his own, allowing his own tears to escape his eyes. His heart swelled at the amount of faith and trust she had in him.

Somehow, they made it back to the soft plush cushions of the couch but their hold on each other never faltered. He felt her warm tears and his shirt and felt the cold streaks on his own face as he rubbed soothing circles on her lower back.

"I-uh- I know that this is hard and…" He didn't know how to ask this. "But I-I need to know." Her sighed deeply and pulled away from her, smoothing her away from her tear stained cheeks. "Did- Did Johnathon ever hurt you?"

Her tear- filled eyes met his; she knew what he meant. She looked away ashamed and wrapped her arms around her body protectively, as she stood and walked to the window. "Yeah," She nodded.

_She lay at the bottom of the stairs, her body aching and the warm tears flowing from her eyes and into her hair. He was on top of her, her body completely exposed. "You want you screw around with some other guy… you will be punished." He whispered in her ear coldly. _

_She stiffened at his last touch, rubbing a hand over her forehead and her cheek, turning her head away from him. She waited for the slap was bound to come but when nothing happened she opened her eyes and watched his retreating form. _

_She curled into a ball, pulling the open shirt back around her. _

_Dirty, useless…She felt it all as she climbed the stairs and crumbled onto the bathroom floor._

"I never thought he would do something like that." She cried, "He hit me but he'd never forced me to do anything…"

This time Patrick sat on the couch, his voice cracking while he asked, "Did you take a shower?"

She turned around to face him, her arms falling to her side; he never looked at her. "Don't do that." She stepped closer to him and he stood backing away from her, his eyes rested on the floor. "Please look at me."

He turned his back to her, running a hand through his hair. "I-I can't…" He said shaking his head.

"Please, Patrick. Everyone is going to look at me and feel sorry for me; they are all going to talk about me. I need you to not do that. I need you to be the one to treat me like I'm normal." She stepped to his side, placing her hand on his upper arm turning his to face her. "Please Patrick…" She pleaded.

"I just, I don't know what to say." He fought to not look her in the eye and she placed a hand on his cheek to stop his movements. "It's men like him that makes me ashamed to be a man. Right now, I want nothing more than to beat him within an inch of his life, give him a piece of his medicine." His eyes finally locked with hers; tear filled and rubbed her cheek with the pad of his thumb. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

She laid her head on his chest and sighed deeply, "I think we need to go to the hospital."


	9. Chapter 9

Author's Note: First, I have to thank you all for the amazing feedback, as always. You guys are just amazing and I am so glad you are enjoying this story. I say it every chapter but I'm just as nervous every time I post a new one as I was when I posted the first chapter. This is pretty much just a filler chapter to lead to what happens in the next, so it's not the most eventful or the longest chapter… But I hope you guys like it all the same:D

Summary: There is a new doctor at General Hospital. She seems really shy and keeps to herself a lot, but slowly she is coming out of her shell. As time goes on and as she starts to get to know her colleagues better, they start to notice unexplained injuries and bruises. What happens when she is brought in late one night by ambulance? Will her secret be revealed? And how will Patrick Drake, her closest friend at the hospital, react?

--

Danger in the Unknown

Chapter Nine:

Anger, Hatred, Disappointment.

He was so angry at everyone around him; everyone except her. He was angry at Johnathon for putting her through the pain, he was angry at the girls for keeping this from him. But mostly, he was angry at himself. Why hadn't he picked up on anything? He was a doctor; he was trained to pick up on these things… But maybe, in the back of his mind, he knew what was wrong with her? Maybe he knew, he just didn't want to believe it?

He hated Johnathon. He hated the pain that he caused Robin. He hated the tears she cried and the nightmares at night. If he ever crossed paths with that low life, he was a dead man.

He was disappointed in himself. He saw her break down, held her shaking body in his arms but still he thought nothing. Yes, he had been worried but he kept his reservations to himself, he didn't feel it was his place. But again, he was supposed to see these things in his patients. And now, knowing that he played a part in her torture…

And now he sat alone in the waiting area, head in his hands. He felt the passing glances and heard the whispers. It was just as she suspected; everyone had heard a version of what had happened and everyone couldn't stop talking about it. And to make things all that much better, whatever rooms were floating around were bound to grow with them being at the hospital now, together. That is the last thing that Robin needed to deal with at the moment.

He sighed deeply and stood, pacing the tiny area. Waiting definitely wasn't his strong suit and the stares were eating on his nerves. What he wouldn't give to punch a hole in the wall beside him…

"Patrick…"

He turned to around, facing the three guilty looking women standing before him; the last three people he wanted to see at the moment. "No," he turned back around and continued his pacing, running a tired hand down his face. "No, not now."

"C-can we just explain..." Elizabeth asked hopefully.

"Explain?" He turned on them, a mixture of anger and disappointment in his eyes. "Explain to me how the three of you thought something like this was happening," he looked at each one of them, "but none of you said a thing."

"Well it's obvious that you're angry…" Emily began.

"Angry? I'm way past angry."

"Fine, be angry. Yell, scream, hit stuff… do whatever you have to do but then will you listen to our reasoning?" Lainey offered.

"Why would I give a damn about anything that you three have to say now? She got herself out of the situation without any of your help, which isn't what should have been because you all claimed to be her friends."

Emily and Elizabeth looked to Lainey, she was the psychologist. "Ok, Patrick… What would you have had us do? Come to you with on a suspicion and no proof? What if we'd been wrong?"

"But you wouldn't have been."

They all stood quietly for a moment before Lainey spoke again, "She had to want to help herself. If we walked up to her and asked if something was happening at home, she could have gone into herself and pushed all of us away…"

"And what bruises or injuries we saw, we asked her how they happened, she always lied…" Emily added.

"You know, she told me how much she enjoys working in Port Charles, she felt like things in her life were getting better, like there was finally something good in her life. So many times, at so many different hospitals, they found out and you know what they did? Nothing." Once more, he looked from one woman to the next, "For the first time, in Port Charles she thought she had friends and you know what you did? Nothing."

--

"You ready to go?" He gave her a gentle smile as she walked out the door.

She nodded and gave a small smile in return, wrapping her arms around herself and turning to face Epiphany, "Thank you."

Completely out of character, Epiphany pulled Robin into a hug, "You take care of yourself and if you ever need to talk, you know where to find me." Robin nodded, "I'll put a rush on these results and I'll get the information to the police station."

"You hungry?" Patrick asked as they stood, waiting for the elevator.

"I could eat." She agreed.

His eyes rested on her for a moment, noticing the tired and drained look in her eyes. She was already so tiny and it appeared that she had lost some weight… She stood off to the side, sure not to touch anyone or anything, her eyes focused on the floor.

"They know, don't they?" She asked in a tiny voice.

Her voice brought him back to reality and he nodded, "Yeah, they know."

She bit her bottom lip and nodded, "I can feel their stares. They all feel sorry for me but they are glad it wasn't them."

"Hey, don't worry about them; no one cares what they think. Just focus on you and getting through this." He ran a hand up and down her back as they took their place on the elevator.

--

"So…" He asked after a few silent moments, "Where do you want to eat?" She shrugged, saying nothing. "What do you say you sit here," They had reached the docks, "and I'll run to Kelly's and get us a couple cheeseburgers and we'll take it home?"

She still said nothing as she took a seat on the hard bench. He stood staring at her for a few minutes before walking away to get their food.

She felt so violated. The reality of what really happened was finally sinking in, or at least, she was allowing it to. She'd known all along what had really happened but she didn't want to believe it. That's why she didn't take a shower that night, she knew, in the back of her mind… But coming from the hospital and being examined by Epiphany, there was nothing holding back the memories now; there was no denial.

"Well, what have we here?"

--

"He was really angry."

"He was really, really angry."

"What are we going to do?"

The three women now sat at their usual table at Kelly's over a big piece of chocolate cake. "What can we do?" Emily asked as she took another bite, "We knew, or we suspected, and we said nothing. Patrick is right, something could have happened to Robin and we did nothing."

"But Robin had to want the help." Elizabeth stated, "How many times did we ask her about her bruises and she said nothing?"

"She was in denial. She probably thought that he loved her and he probably made sure to tell her if anyone found out, he would kill her. And depending on how violent he was, she probably believed him." Lainey explained. "Patrick is right, we didn't do anything and we should have tried harder but we can't blame ourselves entirely. We were in denial as much as she was; no one wants to think that someone close to them is being hurt like that."

"At least she has him, you know?" Emily said. "When I was raped, Nikolas was in prison. I was alone and all I had were my thoughts, the images running again and again in my head. At least, Patrick is there and she has someone who she can trust."

"I just wish there was something that we could do, you know?" Lainey looked at her friends.

"Maybe there is…" A strong male voice came from behind them. "Look, I'm sorry about earlier. I know isn't your fault and I had no right to go off on the three of you. The person that I really should be going off on is behind bars right now." He looked at his hands and continued, "These past few hours have been pretty crazy so I'm sorry."

"Thank you Patrick," Elizabeth spoke for all of them.

"What are you thinking we could do to help Robin?"

--

That voice.

It sent chills up her spine. But it couldn't be right? It couldn't be him… he was in jail.

"What, aren't you happy to see me?"

Her head snapped up, the blood draining from her face. This wasn't happening it was a nightmare; it had to be.

"Where was your lover boy going?" He stepped closer to her and she stood, taking a step away from him. She recognized that look in his eyes, the fire.

"P-P-Patrick…" She was trying to yell it but it came out barely above a whisper.

"Is that his name?" He took another step toward her and she took one away from him once more. "You should really introduce us; I'd love to meet him." There was a sick smile plastered on his face seeing the fear in her eyes.

"St-stay away from me." She moved backward when he took another step in her direction, but she met the tiny stairs, falling backward.

"This is all too familiar isn't it?" His voice was deep, cold, empty. It held no emotion, as did his eyes. There was nothing there.

"Why are you doing this?"

"I'm not doing anything." He smiled at her, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her to her feet. "I'm just reclaiming what is mine."

--

Author's Note2: I don't know how many, if any, of you have heard of Amy Rezos. She is a lady here in Ohio who was a victim or domestic violence. She dated her husband for eight years and they were married for nine years but he never once hit her. He was always controlling and he degraded her verbally but never physically hit her. They started having problems in their marriage and they were getting a divorce and she met him one day in his hotel room, after he'd moved out of their home, to talk about arrangements with their two kids. He wanted full custody and she wanted shared, making him angry. He beat her that day and was put in jail. The police and everyone thought she wouldn't make it but she did, and along with her surviving the attack, her husband was only in jail for 24 hours because he was a "first time offender." There wasn't much that the police could do because of the law at the time so he was set free. She had a restraining order put on him and she changed the locks on their doors, everything she could think of. She got in her car one day and he was waiting for her and he shot her twice in the head. Once again, the police thought she wasn't going to make it, but she did. She was able to testify at her husband's trial and he is currently in prison for thirty years. She used her experience as a way to help others and now in Ohio, we have a law called Amy's Law, and it makes sure that anyone charged for domestic violence must stay in jail until they can be seen by a judge and that judge must have all the evidence and testimony of officers of duty, doctors, etc.

I watched her on Oprah just yesterday and I've seen her story on the news and since I was writing this fic, I thought that I would tell you her story along with this chapter, and tell you where I was getting these ideas. Just so you know I'm not making any of this up… So this is just the cliff notes version of her story… If you want more information, go here


	10. Chapter 10

Author's Note: So… school started today. Junior year, of boy:D The day was pretty crazy, full of new teachers and A LOT of annoying freshmen… Not to mention homework! On the first freakin' day… HOMEWORK! WTF:D But I found some time after school to finish this chapter. It's not the longest and it's probably not the best because it's been kind of rushed but nonetheless, I'm posting it. I will try my best to update as much as possible but I am taking a whole slew of honors and AP classes this year so writing might be cut down to what little free time I have on the weekends. And I know I have a butt load of other stories and I think that for the time being I am going to focus only on this one, because of all of your amazing feedback, and Unexpected Betrayal. Maybe sometime down the road, I will continue the others but for now, I think cutting it down to these two only is for the best. But I promise, these two will be finished eventually. (They are the ones I am most proud of. :D) But once again, you guys are amazing and I love every single one of you! Thank you for the support and the understanding… sigh. If only I was home schooled…

Summary: There is a new doctor at General Hospital. She seems really shy and keeps to herself a lot, but slowly she is coming out of her shell. As time goes on and as she starts to get to know her colleagues better, they start to notice unexplained injuries and bruises. What happens when she is brought in late one night by ambulance? Will her secret be revealed? And how will Patrick Drake, her closest friend at the hospital, react?

--

Danger in the Unknown

Chapter Ten:

It happened all too fast. One moment he was sitting around the table with three gorgeous women; walking down the street, a bag of food at his side, ready to get back to Robin.

He heard the scream; the panic and fear slicing through the air. He had to get to her; he had to save her. His feet were glued to the spot where he stood. The bag in his hand fell to the ground; his heart was beating faster and faster, echoing in his ears.

"Don't touch me!" Her voice shook; he could hear the sheer terror, the tears.

Adrenaline kicked in and he ran. He had to get to her. He promised; he promised to protect her.

--

"What do you want?" She pleaded on her knees after he kicked her, her legs giving out from under her. "What do you want from me?" She was so tired. She was tired of fighting him, tired of the pain and the injuries. She thought it was over…

"You thought you could get away from me! You thought your little playboy was going to be able to keep me away from you?" He walked to her side, whispering in her ear, "I own you."

Ice ran through her veins as she stood, smacking him across the face. She'd never stood up to him before, never fought back. She was out, she saw the silver lining and she wasn't going to let him drag her back. "I won't let you hurt me anymore!"

--

He stood at the top of the stairs, watching as Robin fought back. Anger surged through his body as he saw the man's face for the first time but pride as he saw Robin standing up for herself.

"You sick son of a bitch!" She kicked his side, her arms flailing at her sides; she was no longer in control of her actions.

She felt two strong arms encircle her waist; she would have fought back but she knew it was him. She knew his touch, he smell. He pulled her away, her eyes still on the man lying on the docks. He was moving, slowly, but he was moving. She turned away from him, burying her head in Patrick's chest as the tears fell once more. But this time the tears were a mixture of fear but also accomplishment. For once, she fought back; she didn't let him control her. She'd hurt him, maybe only slightly, but she'd hurt him. Most importantly, she protected herself.

"Are you okay?" Patrick asked as he ran his hands up and down her back, lightly kissing her forehead, squeezing her tiny form to his own. "Did he hurt you?"

She shook her head, wrapping her arms tighter around his waist. "I just want it to stop. I want him to leave me alone."

Patrick glanced at the worthless man still lying on the ground a few feet away from them; it was his fault. If he'd just stayed with her or if he'd taken her to Kelly's with him…this wouldn't have happened. "Shh, everything is okay now. I'm not going to let him hurt you anymore." The words felt nasty as the rolled off his tongue. He'd promised that very thing before and he'd broken that promise; somehow he'd been able to get to her again. "Come on, let's get out of her."

--

They walked in silence down the dark street, his arm wrapped securely around her waist, her head resting on his chest. The thoughts and images were being replayed in their minds. Robin was once again forced to relive the nightmare that she'd called her life for so long, while he was forced to see her so vulnerable. Sure, in the past few days he'd seen her at her worst but even when she felt like her world was falling apart around her, she fought through it with unimaginable strength. But seeing her on the docks, him leaning over her… he'd been told stories of what happened, been to the apartment, but he never could envision the pain and torture.

"He snuck up on me." She said suddenly, quietly. "I was sitting on the bench and I heard his voice." Just thinking about it sent chills up her spine. "I thought I was safe, Patrick. I thought this was over…"

He said nothing as they reached the entrance to his building, never lifting their hold on each other as they joined another couple on the elevator and walked down the hall to the apartment. She finally pulled away once they were inside still holding onto his arm, not wanting to lose all contact.

It was amazing the comfort she felt just knowing he was nearby. She'd only known him for a short time but she felt like she'd known him her whole life. Her only wish was that they could have met under different circumstances, that she could let herself feel something for him and not be afraid. She felt safe with him, trusted him with her life, but she'd trusted Johnathon once upon a time too… She still had her reservations about opening up so completely to someone who could still be considered a stranger. They'd shared a few conversations over take out, but nothing too personal; at least not on his end.

"Will you tell me a little bit about your childhood?" Robin asked as they took their places on each end of the couch. They never sat too close together, feeling the tension their bodies created when they got near each other. It was different when he held her while she cried, for those moments they are both focused on getting her over the latest nightmare or the pain caused by her still nasty looking bruises. "I need to get my mind off of what happened and I can't really tell you much more about me, considering you already know most everything." She gave a slight smile, wrapping the blanket from the back of the couch around her shoulders. After a moment of silence she continued, "You don't have to if you don't want to…"

"What do you want to know?" He interrupted her, knowing she was telling the truth; he knew almost everything about her but he never gave her information about himself.

"I don't know… What were you like as a kid?"

He smiled, "I was spoiled rotten. I was my parent's only kid so I got all of the attention. My dad worked long hours at the hospital so my mom always felt like she had to compensate for the things that he missed and then he felt he had to do the same. I had both of them wrapped around my two little fingers." He smiled proudly.

She raised an eyebrow in surprise, "You were a mama's boy?"

"Oh, yeah. She was my first girlfriend, you know? We had a date night every week. Whether it was a movie or a board game, we just spent time together. She would always fix my favorite dinner, and my mom was a health food junky, so on those nights she let me eat stuff with loads of sugar and chocolate while we did whatever. We did that up until I turned fifteen or sixteen and I started dating for real." His eyes darkened slightly, tears forming suddenly, "I regret stopping those dates when it was just me and her. Looking back, I know that she understood that I was a teenage boy but now, I wish I had another chance to do things differently. I wasted so much time flirting and chasing after girls…"

Robin nodded in understand, noticing the mood shift in the room. "There are a lot of things that if I could go back, I would. I wouldn't have fought with my mom over all of the silly stuff." She paused for a moment before continuing, "And as strange as it may sound, the only thing that I regret about my relationship with Johnathon is that I let it go on for so long. I mean, I know that the way he treated me was wrong and I certainly don't condone it but part of me thanks him for hitting me that first time. I'm a stronger woman because of it…"

"When I was younger, ten or eleven, I remember my mom taking me to this shelter in the town over from ours. I never knew where we were or what we were doing there, I just saw my mom talking to these women and holding them when they cried. And finally, when I was about thirteen, I finally understood what was happening…It was a shelter for battered women." Robin listened whole heartedly, "My mom was always doing things like that while I was growing up. Whatever clothes I grew out of, she donated to the Salvation Army, she cooked for the church on Sundays… She did whatever she could to make someone else's life just a little bit brighter."

"I wish I had a chance to meet her." Robin spoke softly knowing the sensitivity of the conversation. "She sounds like a truly amazing woman."

He nodded, "She was and she would have loved you."

Her eyes widened, "Why?" She wasn't quite sure what she was hoping he would say or why she even really felt like she needed his mother's approval.

"You're a lot like her. You go after what you want and you don't stop until you succeed. I see that everyday when you're at the hospital. You are compassionate and often think of others before yourself, just like she did when it came to me and my dad and those women at that shelter." He paused for moment, "And you don't give up. I saw that tonight on the docks. You could have let him win and get inside your head but you didn't, you fought back. She never let anything bring her down. Even with all of the cancelled dinners from dad because of an emergency surgery or with every new woman who walked through the doors of the shelter… she never let it bring her down and she always had hope that there would come a time when she would finally get that dinner, and the numbers of battered women would fall."

She wiped at the tears that fell slowly down her cheeks. "What's wrong? What did I say? Why are you crying? I hate it when you cry…"

She leaned forward and kissed his cheek, "You are an amazing man Patrick; just like your mother always intended for you to be."

He took a shaky breathe, his eyes focusing on his hands that were playing with the stray strong on the corner of the blanket. "I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you tonight. I should have been there and then this wouldn't have happened, he would have been able to hurt you again…"

"It wasn't your fault, Patrick. And it's taken me a long time to realize that it's not my fault either. I don't blame you." She placed both of her hands on his cheeks making him look her in the eye, "You are the best thing that has probably ever happened to me and the best friend that I could ever ask for. You took me into your home when you didn't know me that well and you have done everything possible to protect me… Do not blame yourself for his stupidity and please don't feel sorry for me and everything that I have gone through. It is because of you that I had the courage to take myself out of the situation."

He nodded slightly, leaning forward and brushing a light kiss across her forehead, pulling her close to him. He ran his hand up and down her back, occasionally rubbing soft circles on her lower back until he heard her even breathing; she was finally asleep.

He carried her up the stairs, carefully laying her tiny form on the bed, once again kissing her forehead lightly. He hoped this night wouldn't be full of nightmares like so many of the last; he wouldn't be here to comfort her this time. He had somewhere else he had to be, something he had to take care of.


	11. Chapter 11

Author's Note: So, some of you may know that I have this posted at the SCRUBS board. Well I posted this there first and I have only updated up to chapter 12 there. So this is the second to last chapter to be posted. I am working on writing chapter 13 so hopefully you won't have to wait too long after I post 12... But thanks again for all of your amazing reviews. They make me happy...

Summary: There is a new doctor at General Hospital. She seems really shy and keeps to herself a lot, but slowly she is coming out of her shell. As time goes on and as she starts to get to know her colleagues better, they start to notice unexplained injuries and bruises. What happens when she is brought in late one night by ambulance? Will her secret be revealed? And how will Patrick Drake, her closest friend at the hospital, react?

Ready, Set… Go!

--

Danger in the Unknown

Chapter Eleven:

His fists clenched tighter and tighter as the steel machine continued to rise higher and higher, completely ignoring the worried looks from the other inhabitants; debating deep within himself. Part of him wanted to take this chance and make him pay, while part of him was saying to walk out the door and go back to his own apartment where she was tucked safely in his bed.

But he always came back around to the same conclusion; he had something that he needed to take care of. And this time, it would be taken care of; there would be no waiting until later. There would be no more uncertainty; he would never come near Robin again.

He walked slowly and steadily down the hallway, his breathing speeding up with every step. His mind kept flashing back to the scene on the docks; Robin on her knees and the disrepair that was once her apartment; or her own personal prison.

He walked slowly to his destination, pausing only a moment to stare at the wooden object in front of him. He glanced briefly down the hallway each direction before pounding loudly on the door, "Open the damn door!"

He lost control of his body, his actions, when the door opened. He pushed through violently, forcing the figure in front of him backwards and onto the ground, "Get up!" He ordered and slammed the door behind him, walking forward. Patrick grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pushed him up against the nearby wall. The entire time, images flashing in his mind of Robin in this same position, of the bruises that called her body their home.

Their eyes remained locked for a few moments, both glaring, willing the other to look away first. Anger spread through both of their masculine bodies as their breaths grew faster and deeper. "Come on, hit me. I dare you." He challenged, a cold smile growing on his face. "But wait, you're the big hot shot surgeon. You wouldn't want to do anything to risk your hands." There was a look in his eyes, a look of satisfaction.

"My career has nothing to do with what I am about to do to you." He paused for a moment, giving a sly smile himself, "You hurt her and now it's time for you to pay." He kneed him where he knew he would feel it, where he knew it would hurt the most. He once again grabbed him by his shirt and threw him on the ground.

He took the chance and scrambled to his feet breathless, before Patrick could grab him once more. "You're doing all of this for Robin?"

"Don't say her name." Patrick replied calmly, sizing up the man in front of him. He was a little shorter than him but not much; they had a similar build, both were pretty muscular. He was so cocky and confident, thought he could take on anyone. With that annoying smile that Patrick wanted to make him regret everyday for the rest of his life.

Feeling more confident, Johnathon stepped forward and pushed Patrick backwards. "You think you scare me? You think I'm intimidated?" He pushed him a few more times, Patrick's feet barely moving with each push, "Come on fight back. Hit me, I know you want to."

The tension in the room could be cut with a knife, both wanting nothing more than to take out their frustration out on the other but neither wanted to throw the first punch. "So, what all has Robin told you about me?" He asked with that same cocky smile on his face knowing speaking her name would only make him all that much more angry, and walking backwards so as to keep his eye on Patrick.

"What's the matter?" Patrick ignored his question and moved for the first time, noticing Johnathon was moving away from him. But Patrick had longer legs and was at his side in a few strides, pushing him and throwing him off balance. "What? You can hit a defenseless woman but you can't hit me? You can bruise her body and break her bones but you can't fight back? And now you're running scared? Come on," Patrick grabbed him and threw him on the other side of the room, "hit me."

"Robin deserved everything that she ever got." Johnathon stuttered, stumbling over the debris on the floor.

Patrick lunged forward, stopping right in his face, "Shut the hell up." He said it calmly but anger was coursing through his body. He wanted nothing more than to the beat the 'man' in front of him to a bloody pulp, stopping only when he thought he'd seen a glimpse of how he'd treated Robin, of how he'd hurt her.

"Or what?" The smile faded and his eyes were empty. "What are you going to do?"

Patrick surprised even himself and instead of giving in to his anger and taking the chance to throw the first punch, he backed away, his arms falling to his side. "You could be back behind bars again tonight; you broke the restraining order…" Patrick paused, walking slowly around the room. "But there is something that I have wanted to do for quite awhile now and I can't do it if you're behind bars." He stopped in front of the lone picture that remained in tact. "Robin is done with you." His eyes remained on the smiling face that was looking back at him through the glass. Robin's smiling face. This was a true testament to how happy things were in the beginning, at some time the two really loved each other.

"She has no choice," He watched as Patrick stared at the picture.

"Wrong. I'm in her life now and you're not. Hell will freeze over before I let you anywhere near her again." He loosened his grip on the picture, allowing it to fall to the floor, the frame shattering to pieces. He watched the pain shoot through the man's eyes, a feeling of accomplishment settling into his bones. It was just as he thought…

But as quickly as his cocky exterior had disappeared it was built back up again, "Where were you today?" The simple question nearly blew Patrick off his feet. He felt guilty enough as it was, part of the reason why he was here right now, he didn't need this low life reminding him that he wasn't there to protect her; that he broke his promise to always be there for her. "You weren't there to protect her this afternoon so you come her tonight hell bent on beating me within an inch of my life? Do you really think this is going to make Robin happy, take away any of the pain that I caused her?"

He turned to face him, his own uncertainty written on his face and spoke coldly, "It looks like Robin protected herself just fine." He smiled sneakily referring to the growing bruise on the side of the man's face.

Johnathon shrugged off the comment, "Nothing you say or do will ever take away the pain that I caused and she will never trust you. I did that to her." There was a sickening pride in his voice, like he was happy that he'd hurt her so badly.

"You really think that? You think Robin doesn't trust me?" Patrick smiled, shaking his head with the stupidity of the man in front of him. "Where is she? Who did she call when she needed someone to help her, to save her? Who was with her when she packed her things and vowed never to come back to this place?" He knew it wasn't right, but just as with the picture, the words and the beating wouldn't hurt as much as the realization of what he'd lost would. "She is done with you, forever."

Patrick glanced once more around the room, remembering when he came with Robin to get her things, how she depended on him… "I know that at some point you had to love her or at least care deeply for her, she is too amazing not to. Who knows, maybe you still love her and just have some screwed up way of showing it." Patrick stated remember the look on his face when the picture frame fell to the floor. "I'm not going to fight you because you are right, none of this would make things easier for Robin and it certainly isn't going to change anything that happened." Their eyes met as Patrick continued, "I came here tonight to prove a point. Robin wants nothing to do with and I will die before I let you anywhere near her ever again."

Not another word was shared between the two as Patrick swept passed him and out the door.

--

The only light in the illuminating in the room were the bright green numbers coming from the clock beside the television as she sat, her arms wrapped around her knees, her body rocking slightly. She'd had a bad dream; he'd left her alone. It got to be too much for him, he couldn't handle all of the pressure.

He wasn't there when she woke up…

She wanted to trust him, she did trust him. But she didn't want to get hurt again. She'd trusted the Johnathon loved her, that he wouldn't hurt her and she was proven wrong. But she knew there was something different, something special about Patrick from the moment she'd met him. She'd called him when she needed someone and he was there for her like no one else ever had been. He let her move in with him, gave up his bachelor lifestyle all so he could be a friend and help her out. All perfectly good reasons to trust him, but then she would have a nightmare or see something that reminded her of the past and her insecurities all came rushing back to the surface.

Her head jerked up as a key was inserted in the lock on the door and his tall frame walked in. Relief swept over her as she stood wrapping her arms around herself but was soon followed by fear and worry when she saw the look on his face and the defeated way he walked.

"Hey," he gave a small smile, "what are you doing up?"

"I had a bad dream."

This couldn't have gotten much worse according to Patrick. He wasn't there when she needed him on the docks and instead of doing the one thing he wanted to do for so long, he walked away from the problem. And now she had a bad dream, like she did every other night, and he wasn't there to calm her down and reassure her. "I'm sorry I wasn't here…"

She walked toward him, placing a hand on his arm, "I'm fine." They walked silently over to the couch, their hands and fingers interlocking on the short journey. This time he sat at one end and she sat next to him, facing him. "What's wrong? Did you get called into the hospital?" She knew that wasn't the case, she'd called there a while ago.

He shook his head, "No."

She smiled; she was hoping he wouldn't lie to her. "Did you have a hot date?" She tried to lighten the mood unsuccessfully.

"I went to see Johnathon." He came right out and told her. He wanted to have the argument and get it over with sooner rather than later.

"What did he say?" Her smile faded and her eyes fell to her fidgeting hands in her lap. He'd come to notice that was one of her nervous habits.

"That wasn't exactly the answer I was expecting." He placed one of his large hands over her two smaller ones, "We didn't fight, I promise. I'll be honest; I went there with every intention of kicking his ass." He gave a small smile, "But he was actually the one to change my mind. Violence isn't going to change a thing or do anything but possibly get me in trouble. I may hate the man and if he disappeared tomorrow, I wouldn't miss him. He was wrong in ever laying a hand on you in a violent or controlling manner but I didn't do anything to him. He doesn't even know how lucky he is…"

She smiled, "Thank you. I know that you feel guilty about not being there today but honestly, I even have to thank you for that. Today, for the first time, I actually let myself stand up to him and I proved to myself that I don't need to be with a man like that. I proved that I am capable of taking care of myself." She sighed, her eyes lowering back to her hands, "Just promise me that you won't go after him again. Just let the police do what they do best…"

"I can't promise that I won't do something to him if he tries to come after you again. I can't promise that I won't confront him or that I'll walk away like I did tonight. But I can promise that if he keeps his distance, we won't have a problem."

The fell into a comfortable silence just content to be together; completely comfortable. Somehow, their hands found each other, their fingers playing and intertwining as they both got lost in their separate thoughts. Thoughts of the days events, the possibilities for the future…

"What do you want to do tomorrow?" Robin asked, breaking their silence.

He shrugged, "What do you want to do?"

She shrugged and smiled when he rolled his eyes, "I just want to spend one day without thinking about all of this crap. I want to enjoy life again and look forward to the future, and forget about the past."

"Okay… so what do you want to do?"

"I don't know," She shrugged for a second time. "What do you want to do?"

He ran a tired hand down his face and smiled, she drove him crazy sometimes. But that was one of the things that he liked the most about her. She wasn't afraid to go toe-to-toe with him and she crumble like jello when he walked in the room. As much as he enjoyed that before, the thought didn't really excite him as much now. He turned to face her quickly, "Do you trust me?"

She looked at him strangely, noticing the excitement in his eyes and his voice, "Yeah…"

"Will you trust me tomorrow and go with me somewhere, and not ask questions?"

She bit her lip a littler nervous, but looking in his eyes she couldn't say no. "Yeah," She nodded, "okay."

His face lit up and his dimple appeared; quickly, he leaned forward and his lips met hers.


	12. Chapter 12

Author's Note: Well first, thank you for the reviews. I'm glad you all were happy with this last chapter. I know some of you really wanted Patrick to beat Johnathon to a pulp, and honestly, that was what I was going to write but once I started the chapter, I changed my mind and you guys all saw what I ended up with… But anyway, thank you guys so much. I can't tell you enough how much I love each and every one of your reviews. :D

Now, as for this chapter… I decided to break this up instead of making it one whole chapter so this is kind of a two-parter and this chapter ends kind of suddenly. Also, I have taken the two of them away from the drama for a couple chapters. I took them out of the normal environment… You'll see what I'm sayin' when you read the chapter. And the next couple of chapters are going to be easy SCRUBS, no Johnathon, but he isn't gone just yet.

So… I think that's it. So here we go. Yall ready?

Summary: There is a new doctor at General Hospital. She seems really shy and keeps to herself a lot, but slowly she is coming out of her shell. As time goes on and as she starts to get to know her colleagues better, they start to notice unexplained injuries and bruises. What happens when her colleagues catch on to what is happening to her? Will her secret be revealed? And how will Patrick Drake, her closest friend at the hospital, react?

--

Danger in the Unknown

Chapter Twelve:

"Are you ever going to tell me where we are going?" She smiled as she turned the corner into the kitchen finding him standing in front of the stove, once again fixing her breakfast. They'd been having the same conversation since they both woke about an hour before; she kept asking where he was taking her and he was only giving her a sly smile, saying nothing.

He glanced in her direction long enough to give his dimpled grin before returning his eyes to the job in front of him. "No I'm not going to tell you and trust me, you'll never guess so don't try. But I will tell you that it's a place that is very special to me."

Satisfied with his answer, for the moment, and took a seat at the nearby table as he placed a plate in front of her and took his seat beside her. Surprisingly, there was no tension in the air and the conversation was smooth; not at all awkward after last night.

_He leaned forward, his lips capturing hers. But as quickly as it had begun, it ended when he pulled back. "I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking…" He stammered and stood, pacing back and forth running a worried hand through his hair. _

_She watched his nervous movements before she stood and walked to his side, placing her soft hand on his arm. "It's okay, really." _

_"No it's not. That shouldn't have happened…" He was motioning towards the couch where they had both been sitting a few moments before, his eyes showing the fear that he felt of her reaction. "Honestly, I- I didn't mean to and I know it was stepping over the line and…"_

_"Patrick, take a breath." She smiled enjoying his fidgeting. It wasn't often that he showed he wasn't in control. He was always the first one to come up with a solution and take control of a situation. He takes risks and more often than not, he comes out on top. "It's fine." The air grew stiff between the two; Patrick still reeling from his slip up and Robin afraid she gave too much away. For a slight second, he let his feelings get the best of him and he kissed her and she was at a loss for words, she waited for the moment for so long, despite everything that had happened. _

_"So we should get to bed then…" Patrick stated their eyes still connected._

_"Yeah…" She agreed. "Goodnight." _

_"Goodnight." _

_They stood stalk still, their eyes pouring into the others, their bodies slowly moving forward. "I really am sorry for what happened." Patrick apologized once more as they sat together on the coach. _

_She said barely above a whisper, "Don't worry about it."_

_They leaned forward, pulling towards the other, their lips joined once again. It was a soft kiss, filled with emotion and passion; gentle and caring. Both sensed the want of the other but also the need to take things slowly. His hand came up to cup the side of her face gently and she wrapped her tiny fingers around his wrist before pulling away and staring into his soft coffee colored eyes. "I've wanted to do that for a long time." She smiled shyly and blushed slightly. _

_"I just thought..."_

_"I'm no where near ready to jump into a relationship with anyone," She interrupted him, "but I care for you and I don't know how to thank you for everything that you have done for me." She paused for a moment, sensing she wasn't saying quite what she wanted to. "I don't know how I will feel two months from now and I don't know if I'll ever be able to risk giving myself to someone again, not after being hurt so badly. But I am going to try because you are a great guy and you have done so much for me and I really do appreciate everything…"_

_He silenced her with a brief kiss before pulling apart and resting his forehead on hers, looking her in the eye, "We'll take things slow." _

"Be sure to eat fast, we have a lot to do today and I would like to be on the road some time within the next hour or so…"

"On the road?" She looked at him skeptically, "We're going on a road trip? How long are we going to be gone, do I need to pack anything?"

He shook his head, taking a bite of his breakfast. "Hopefully we will be home late tonight…" He looked at her for a moment, debating if he should tell her where he was taking her or not. "You might want to bring along an extra change of clothes just to be safe. But just an extra pair of clothes," he smiled, "not an extra pair of shoes and your makeup bag and your curling iron and …"

"Okay, I get it!" She smacked him playfully on the arm. "One change of clothes."

"And no pouting, I promise you will have a good time."

Two hours later and three bags later, they were packed up and on the road. Patrick in the driver's seat looking especially attractive in his brand new sun glasses and Robin sat patiently at his side, watching the scenery passing her by. She couldn't help but think of all the times she'd sat in this very seat, wondering what she would encounter in the new town; would things be different, would they get better?

"Hey…" He looked at her worriedly, "Where did you just go?"

She gave a soft smile and shook her head trying to rid herself of all the negative thoughts. That was the past, done and over with now. "I was just thinking that this could possibly be the only road trip I've ever been on…"

"Really?"

"Well we didn't get much of a chance to go on vacation when I was little and after my mom died and my dad focused on finding the person responsible, family time was pretty much pushed to the back burner. I mean, don't get me wrong, my childhood when my parents were around was the best. But when they weren't in town and they were off on some top secret mission, I pushed off on this aunt and that uncle…" There was a touch of sadness in her voice while she spoke, "I guess I didn't have the most conventional childhood."

He sat silently, not completely sure if he should divulge information about his childhood that to him, was the best it could have possibly have been. "Obviously with my dad working all of the time, we didn't have many chances for road trips either but every summer we all would pile in the car with couple of my aunts and uncles and cousins and head to the beach. It was half the adventure trying to get all of us kids in the car and keeping us content for the drive…" He shook his head smiling, "honestly I don't know how my mom ever did it. But she always did. She was the strongest person that I've ever known." He choked up a bit, tears forming behind their plastic shades but tried to shield his change of demeanor by continuing on, "But even when we spent a night at home in the middle of the week, my mom always thought up crazy things to do to make dinner more exciting. Sometimes we would just sit at the picnic table in our backyard and other times maybe we would go to the park…

"And I always caught my mom and dad dancing in the middle of the kitchen." He smiled, "I remember when I was really little and I'd started going to school, way back when I was terrified of cooties. I came home from school and there they were, dancing; she was fixing my after school snack and he had his arms wrapped around her waist and they were swaying together, oblivious to anyone or anything around them. They both jumped five feet off the ground when I walked in and spoke, telling them how nasty they were… They both laughed so hard…"

Robin noticed the lone tear that slid from the bottom of his sunglasses, "It's nice that you have those memories. I love my parents and I know that they love me; I know that everything that they did, they did to make sure that I was safe. If you could ask my mom if she would die all over again, she would do it if she thought she would be protecting me. I've tried not to be bitter because I don't have those memories… but sometimes, it's hard."

"I've tried not to feel so bitter towards my father. I know how much he adored my mom, she was his world; his life. But I lost her too…" He sat silent for a moment before continuing, "I blamed him for a long time for ruining 'my family,' and not even because he lost her on the table but because he left me alone. I'm not completely over it and I'll certainly never fully forgive him but I can't hold onto the anger any longer. If anything, losing my mother showed that life is short and precious. I've already lost one parent, I don't want to lose the only one I have left and not have told him how I feel…"

They rode in silence both now realizing the serious turn of conversation and both considering the things the other said. There was a lot that they shared but there were also some pretty wide differences… Here was this incredibly gorgeous man, with the kindest heart but yet he was afraid to let people in. He hid behind a faulty charade…

"So…" She gave a sneaky smile, "are we there yet?"

--

"No."

"Come on, please?"

"No, we are not listening to that!"

"Patrick…" She looked at him, begging him with her best puppy dog eyes.

"We are not listening to Michael Bolton! This is my car and I'm driving so that is final." He kept a straight face, glaring at her disbelieving.

"Are you really going to force me to do it?" She raised an eyebrow, staring him up and down, smiling. "Alright… here I go…" She took a deep, dramatic breath and glared at him when she heard his snickering, which he stopped immediately under her watchful gaze. "HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO LIVE WITHOUT YOU…"

"Alright, fine! You can listen to one song, ONE song!" He shook his head and focused once again on the road, just happy to see her smiling. However, it was only three seconds into the song when he spoke, "I can't believe you actually like this guy…"

"Oh yeah… I'm full on Bolton Buddie and everything."

"Bolton Buddie?"

She laughed out loud at his bewildered expression, "I like a few of his songs, I'm not dying to marry the man or anything. But you do have to admit, he's a pretty attractive man…"

Patrick rolled his eyes, now choosing to tune out the crappy music and her less than appealing rendition of each song. A few of his songs…yeah right.

--

"Robin, wake up. We're here." He nudged her shoulder and she opened her eyes slowly. She'd been asleep for the last two hours of the drive. Apparently, her own personal Boltonfest had taken quite a bit out of her…

"What time is it?"

"It's a little after four…" He answered as he situated their accumulated trash so they could move and moved to open his door, "come on."

She wiped the sleep from her eyes and opened the door, stepping out into the cool night and wrapping her arms around herself. It only took her a moment to realize where they were. "Uh, Patrick… we're at a park." She glanced around for him when she didn't receive an answer and found him on the nearby swings.

He seemed lost in his thoughts as she walked closer to him and she was surprised when he spoke, "I came to this park all the time when I was a little kid. You see that yellow house right through those trees?" He pointed and her eyes followed, "That was where we lived."

Not another word was spoken between the two as they took in their surroundings; the tall trees and bright colored playground equipment, the freshly cut grass and the monkey bars. It was all too familiar… "Why did you bring me here?" Robin looked out across the street at the yellow house, pushing her hands deeper inside her pockets to free them from the cool autumn air.

A few yards away, a little boy ran around in the open field, a tall auburn haired woman chasing after him. Everyone around heard the cackling of his laughter and all sucked in a breath waiting for his scream when he fell. Patrick watched the scene, tears glimmering in his eyes. He shrugged, "You've opened up to me and told me so much about yourself. I thought it was only right that I finally do the same."


	13. Chapter 13

Author's Note: I'm sorry it has taken so long to get this chaptr out there but hasn't been the nicest to me recently. But thank you all for the amazing reviews. I love hearing from you all:D

--

**Danger in the Unknown**

Chapter Thirteen:

"So much has changed since the last time I was here."

Robin squeezed his large hand that held her own as they walked down the tiny streets of his hometown. His eyes were wide with surprise at all of the subtle changes, his heart breaking seeing that this tiny corner of the world had only continued spinning with the rest even without him… time kept moving even when some of the most important people were no longer there to share it.

"That tall red, brick building," he pointed out into the distance, "that's the elementary school. That's where I met my second girlfriend…" Robin looked at his confused, "Ms. McKinney, my kindergarten teacher. She always brought me cookies and milk."

"Cookies and milk? Just for you?" She looked at him skeptically.

"Well, you know, she never would say it, you know, because of the other kids, but she liked me."

"No can resist that dimple." She chided him.

They walked in silence, their eyes roaming over the environment around them. The houses that lined the streets were still kept with their original beauty and flowers lined the edges of their yards. The grass all seemed so freshly cut with tall, towering trees parked all along the sidewalk and a few in the nearby yards. "This town is beautiful." She spoke softly as if not wanting to disrupt the peaceful quiet, the birds chirping. "It reminds me of the town that I grew up in."

"It's strange you know? When I was younger I thought I was never going to get out of here. I looked around and all I saw were these imaginary walls trapping me in…"

"Why did you leave?"

He shrugged and sat on the nearby bench, "I guess part of me left because of me and the other part left because of my dad. He was hurting and he was pushing everyone around him away. He started drinking more and more, and instead of me staying to stop it before things got out of control; I left. I lost her too and I had my own demons that I had to fight… And the way I saw it, we'd planned for my future for years. I knew that her biggest dream for me was to go to college and become a surgeon like my father. So I left."

"Do you regret it?"

He took a deep breath, looking at his hands that rest in his lap. "Sometimes. Sometimes I wonder where I would be now if I didn't. Would I still be here? Would things be better between me and my dad? But then there are the times that I wonder what if my mom was still alive? Would I have the career I do now or would my life revolve around the perfect little family that she swore I was destined to have?"

"I wonder that sometimes too. Would things be different if my mom had lived through that explosion? Would they be retired by now and would I have a chance to get to know them better? Would I have been in that relationship with Johnathon? Would my mom have known what was happening, and would she have done anything to stop it?" She took a deep breath and continued, "But then I know that there is no point in the 'what if's' and there is no point in trying to figure out how different things would be. I am a firm believer in things happening for a reason and; honestly, I think we were both destined to lose our mothers so early in our lives and meet each other now. We have something in common… and I think you could be the one person in this world who understands me better than anyone."

"So what, do you mean it is fate that we have met each other now, at this point in our lives?"

She heard the playfulness in his voice and blushed slightly. "I'm saying that these past few days haven't been the easiest and I don't know what I would have done without you. I'm saying that if nothing else good came from my experience with Johnathon, I am glad that we have been given this chance to get to know each other."

--

"Are you sure this is legal?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure? I mean, really sure? You're not just saying that hoping I'll believe you and then when I turn around there will be a big, burley guy behind me, ready to tackle?"

"You've been watching way too much television." He kidded as he pushed the door open. "And yes, I am positive this is one hundred percent legal."

"Whose house is this anyway?" She hissed as they crossed the threshold.

"It's mine. This is the house I grew up in."

She stood off to the side of the room as he explored the spacious room. There was still a few furniture items placed strategically around the room. From where she was standing she could see a few picture frames on the end tables and the mantel of the fireplace, but she couldn't make out the faces. She followed behind him as he silently walked into the room adjacent to the one they were in previously. This one also had many items of furniture making it not seem so empty and cold.

"I can't believe this is still here." Patrick spoke softly but she could hear the tears and emotion in his voice. "Every six months my mom used to measure my height; starting from when I was about two years old until I was around fifteen when I outgrew her. I thought for sure it would have been painted over…" He was speaking more to himself now. "You see that wall over there?" He turned to face her only a second before striding to the other side of the kitchen, "You see all of the different colors? My mom was an artist. She made almost anything you could imagine, painted every room in this house. This was her latest project…" He stepped closer to the wall, running his hand over the different colors. "She liked to paint lines of color like this so she could imagine the wall being that color for a awhile. She did it every time that she started a new project and eventually she would choose one. Not that it mattered much because she would be at the grocery store or the flea market and see a picture that she 'had to have' and when she would bring it home, she'd have to find a place to hang it."

"And she would have to change the color all over again." Robin smiled slightly, walking over to his side. "I completely understand that… I'm the same way. I am extremely organized. I have to have my closets color coordinated; even my dishes. I swear, I think they invented Tupperware just to spite me."

"It used to drive her crazy when she would come into my room and I was lying on my bed with my dirty clothes all over my room, my books, magazines, CD's. She would always rant about teaching me better while she straightened everything up. But she would always stand next to me and place a hand on my cheek and smile at me." He stood by the backdoor, looking out into the backyard. "Taking care of me and my dad was what she lived for. She always said she was born to be a mother and a wife. As much as she loved us and we were her world, she was ours tens times more. Everything that my dad did, he did to make her proud."

"She was one lucky woman to have the two of you love her so much." Robin said softly, placing a gentle hand on his arm.

"We were the lucky ones."

--

"Cowboys?" She asked not even trying to hide her giggling. "I never would have thought… With a matching comforter and pillows!"

"Hey now, it's not just any cowboy. That's cowboy Eddie. He was a puppet and he had his own show. In each show he would go on these adventures, and take on the wild horse and brave the worst dust storm in ages."

"Cowboy Eddie? What a shame I missed that." She looked at him, a hint of a smile still remaining.

He opened the closet while speaking, "When I was about ten years old, I grew out of Cowboy Eddie and this room so I moved down the hall in the bigger room and when I turned fourteen or so, I moved to the basement. But mom always kept my things in their place. I would catch her in here sometimes, just sitting on the bed."

"Her little boy was growing up." In her voice he heard a mixture of play and seriousness.

"I'll never forget the first time she caught me with a girl… Somehow I'd managed to sneak her in the house and down into my room without my mom seeing, which really was pretty strange considering she was almost always in the kitchen when I came home. But when she came back into the kitchen and my stuff was by the door, she came down to give me my sandwich and there we were."

"Oh no… you weren't?"

"She caught us kissing. She was my new girlfriend and I really liked her so I was trying to play it off like I was some super cool guy and she was lucky I was even giving her a chance. But that appearance disappeared when she came after me with the broom… We broke up the next day."

"Oh you poor thing…" She placed her hand on his cheek, smiling up at his tall form. "Thank you for bringing me here. It means a lot to me that you could share something like this with me."

He blushed slightly and looked around the room one last time as he pulled the door closed. "I'm glad I brought you too. I haven't been back in this house since I left for college ten years ago. I'm glad it was you who was with me."

They walked in an awkward silence down the stairs and he stood in the rooms once again, the memories flashing before his eyes. "Well we better get back on the road if we want to even think about getting home at a decent hour." She nodded and stepped exited the way they entered. He followed only a few seconds later, pulling the door closed tightly behind him.


	14. Chapter 14

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews! I know these last couple of chapters haven't been the best. As I said before, they were filler chapters and I kind of just wanted a way for them to grow closer. But thank you all for the reviews and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Things are starting to get back on track.

--

**Danger in the Unknown**

"I guess it's time to come back to reality." She sighed heavily as they walked through the door and into the apartment, dropping their bags at the end of the hallway. "It was fun while it lasted…"

He felt the drop in her attitude, he heard the growing fear. This was the place that held many of her biggest fears and worst memories. It didn't matter that the police were involved or that he was behind bars, he was still here. Even if it was on the other side of town. And the police didn't exactly do much the last time; she had every right to be worried, to be scared. "Hey, it's going to be fine. I promise you he won't get near you again." He'd promised the same thing time and time again and he'd failed her once before. He just hoped that she would believe him this tine and trust his same words, but how could she if he wasn't sure if he believed them himself?

He hit the play button on the answering machine and sat beside her on the couch, "Uh, hello. This is Mac Scorpio from the Port Charles Police Department and I am calling to speak with Robin Scorpio. It is my understanding that you are out of town so whenever you return will you please call me at the station. There are a few things that we need to discuss. Thank you and I hope to speak with you soon."

"Hey Patrick, I guess you aren't in. But call me when you get this. I'll talk to you later, son." Noah's voice filled the apartment.

"Hello, this is Alan from the hospital and I am just calling to make sure that the two of you will be returning to work tomorrow. If you need more time, just let me know and we will figure something out. If I don't get a call from you sometime today, I will expect to see the two of you at the hospital tomorrow."

"Who should we call first?" Patrick asked, staring at the television on the other side of the room.

She shrugged, biting on her bottom lip, her hands fidgeting in her lap. "Why don't you call your dad and I'll go take a shower?" She offered as she stood and he nodded, watching her movements. He noticed immediately she wrapped her arms around herself protectively. They were home and her wall was being built up once again.

She was halfway up the stairs when he stood and grabbed the phone, dialing his father's familiar phone number. "Hey dad," he replied when he heard his father's smooth voice on the other end of the phone.

_"Patrick, thank god. I was worried sick about you." _

"We went out of town for the night but we're back now." Patrick explained tiredly running a hand through his hair and down his face. He knew what was coming next.

_"We? Is Robin still staying with you?" _

"Where else would she be, Dad? I'm not going to abandon her. I'm the closest thing she has to anything normal in this town." It was the same thing between them recently. They spent the first few minutes talking about the normal father/son things; sports, cars, their latest surgeries, and then things would turn to Robin. And his father didn't bother trying to hide his contempt for the situation.

_"Patrick," he sighed, "I know that you want to help her and I'm sure that you believe you can. But I know you son, and I hear it in your voice. You are starting to fall for this woman and she isn't ready for a serious relationship. Not after everything that she has just been through."_

"Listen, Dad, I'm not going to argue with you over this. I know she isn't ready for a serious relationship, but neither am I. Do I care for her? Yes, but I'm not going to force her to do something that she doesn't want to do." His head lay on the back of the couch, "She is my friend and she needs me right now and I'm not going to walk away from her."

_"I just don't want you to get hurt…"_

Patrick heard his father sigh and was surprised himself when he felt the weight on the couch shift. He turned his head and found Robin staring at him. "Look Dad, I've got to go. What do you say we meet for dinner in a couple of days? I'll talk to you later." He ended the call and practically threw the phone on the coffee table, lifting his feet to rest on the same table.

"Tired?" There was a playful smile on her face. She seemed much more relaxed now, after her shower.

"A little." He opened his eyed, his head still resting on the back of the couch and looked at her. "But it was worth it. I hadn't been there in so long; it was nice to see everything again; relive all the memories."

She nodded and played with the tiny piece of string coming from the corner of the cushion. "I know I already thank you for bringing me with you, but thank you again. It was nice to see where you grew up and see something that was such an important part of shaping who you are today. It's strange but it's almost like I met your mother while I was there."

"I have a feeling the two of you would have gotten along. You're a lot like her in some ways…" His voice trailed off as he watched her. Her hair pulled back into a messy bun and she was wearing the pair of boxers and the shirt he gave her, her first night there. She smiled and looked away from him, slight blush creeping up on her cheeks. Suddenly, he was worried that his father could be right.

--

"Do we have to go back to work? I've enjoyed these past couple of days, despite everything." She asked as she trudged into the kitchen, having just woke up.

"I'm afraid I have to go in but if you aren't up to it, I can talk to Alan. I'm sure he will understand." He replied while he poured her a cup of coffee, adding three spoonfuls of sugar and two spoonfuls of the French vanilla creamer. "Here, this will probably help."

She smiled gratefully, lifting her head from its resting spot on the wall. "Thanks."

He returned to his spot in front of the stove. It was quickly becoming his favorite thing to do, cook for Robin. He always enjoyed standing behind the stove. It was kind of like surgery, he was in complete control. "Mac called again this morning. He wants to meet with you tomorrow."

She sat up straight in her chair and placed the warm coffee cup on the table in front of her, "Did he say why?"

He shook his head, "He wouldn't tell me why… Do you want me to go with you?"

"I know that I've asked a lot of you…"

"I'll be there."

--

They walked off they elevator and to Robin, it seemed everyone around stopped and stared. She felt their eyes piercing into her form. Her hands grew cold and clammy, her legs shook with each step, threatening to let go under her. She wasn't ready for this. She wasn't ready to face them all, answer their questions. No matter how many years she'd been with Johnathon, this was a first. She'd never been forced to return to a hospital after they found out her secret. "Patrick, I'm not so sure about this…"

He took her tiny hand in his and ran his thumb over her knuckles trying to calm her frazzled nerves. "Look at me. Everything will be fine. I promise." Her eyes were filled with tears of fear and her felt her hand shaking in his.

"I don't think I can do this." She bowed her head. "I've never had to do this…"

"You've never had me at your side."

--

"Hey, can we talk to you for a minute?"

Robin looked up from the file in front of her to see Liz and Emily looking at her, hope filling their eyes. "I'm really not feeling up to it…"

"You don't have to tell us anything if you don't want to but we would like to share some things with you." Emily explained. "If things get too uncomfortable, all you have to do is get up and leave."

She nodded and they walked silently to the elevator and boarded the steel machine, riding in silence. All were nervous and wondering what was about to happen. The silence continued while they got their cups of hospital coffee and even longer when they took their seats. "We know that you probably don't want to talk about what happened to you but…" Elizabeth tried hard to find the right words to say.

"I don't know if you know this, but the two of us were raped." Emily took over. "Elizabeth by someone who she didn't know, and me by a man who looked identical to my husband." She paused for a moment, laying a hand on Elizabeth's. They'd both worked through their attacks and they were both stronger for it but it was still hard to talk about. "It's kind of a long story but there was this man, Connor Bishop. He looked almost identical to Nikolas and while Nikolas was in prison, I was trying to teach Connor how to act like Nikolas. Now that I look back on it, it certainly wasn't my best idea. But anyway, one day he snapped and he chased me around the house and trapped me in the basement. I fought and tried to push him off, I was crying… but he still managed to rape me. He still managed to take advantage of my body without my consent. I felt dirty, like I'd done something wrong. And the one person that I was supposed to trust the most, my husband, I wouldn't let near me because of his appearance. He reminded me too much of my attack."

Robin looked at the two women in front of her, amazed by their strength. Knowing Emily's story, how had she ever faced what happened? How had she faced everyone having grown up in this tiny town?

"It was a little different for me." Elizabeth spoke. "I was walking through the park and someone grabbed me from behind. I never saw his face and I never found out who it was. I felt something change in me that night. I was no longer the fun, reckless Elizabeth. Suddenly, my body had been used in a way that it shouldn't have been. I was violated… You know, what we're trying to say is that you aren't alone. We've been where you are. It's not an easy thing to get past or to talk about but you can't keep it locked inside of you."

"We know you have Patrick and we know that he has helped you through the past few days but we want you to know that we are here for you too. Even if you just want to hear us talk more about our experiences, or if you want us to listen to yours." Emily spoke lightly. They were taking a chance, hoping they weren't overstepping their bounds.

She sat silently for a moment before speaking, "I never thought he would or could hurt me like that. He'd beat me for years and I guess a couple times, he'd come close or thought to… But I never thought he would actually go through with it. I guess part of me still thought that the guy I first met and fell in love with was inside him somewhere." She sat quietly for a moment but continued, "It lasted only a few minutes but it seems that something that tore my life upside down and made me think so little of myself should at least lasted longer…"

The other two nodded understanding completely the way she was feeling. "It wasn't easy to get through," Emily admitted, "but when you have others around you who care for you and are willing to help you and support you… you have everything that you need."


	15. Chapter 15

Author's Note: So, I kinda had some computer problems and I've kinda pushed this story to the back burner for awhile but I figured you all deserved an update, so here it is! Thanks for the reviews and I hope you like it!

**Danger in the Unknown**

Chapter Fifteen:

'This had to go off without a hitch. Nothing could go wrong.' He thought as he once again sifted through the plans for later that day. It was his goal today to make her feel special, maybe even loved. These past few days, these last few years, of her life hadn't exactly been the easiest or happiest for her. He was now determined to prove to her that things were looking up…

"Good morning." She said tiredly as she walked down the stairs, pulling her messy hair into an even messier ponytail.

"Good morning." Patrick smiled at her, quickly placing the files and papers into his briefcase. "I was going to make you breakfast but Epiphany just called and there is an emergency at the hospital…"

"Don't worry about it." She waved it off with her hand, "I'm fully capable of pouring cereal in a bowl…"

He scowled slightly but said nothing as he watched her walk into the kitchen, waiting for what he knew what coming. He sat on the back of the couch, crossing his legs at the ankle and resting his hands in his lap, waiting. And sure enough, a few seconds later, her head poked around the corner. "Patrick…" She bowed her head and dragged her feet as she walked toward him, acting like a shy little kid accepting a gift from someone they didn't know too well.

"Robin…" He smiled; imitating her, crossing his arms over his chest.

"How did you know?"

He shrugged, "A little bird told me…"

She stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, his arms wrapping themselves around her waist. She buried her head in the crook of his neck, trying hard to fight off the tears that were forming and trying their damndest to be seen. "Thank you…"

"I wouldn't get too sentimental yet. You haven't seen what's inside yet."

She pulled away slowly and once again looked him in the eye shyly, leaning beside him against the back of the couch, staring at the tiny box in her hands.

"Well… aren't you going to open it?"

She lifted the lid off of the tiny box, the smile never fading for a moment. However, the smile faltered when she saw the tiny metal object lying on the tiny bed of cotton. "I don't get it."

He laughed out loud, recognizing immediately that she was confused: Her eyebrow was raised and she'd begun biting down on her lower lip, staring down at the box in her hands almost waiting for it to explain itself. "It's a key."

"Well, I got that." She rolled her eyes at him playfully, "But a key to what?"

"To your new apartment." He stated matter-of-factly. "I know that I took a risk but I think I've gotten to know you pretty well these past few weeks… The point is, you now have an apartment of your own."

She looked from his smiling face to the cold metal that she now held in her hands. Part of her knew that the tiny world she'd been living in these past few weeks was too good to last but she at least thought she would have a little bit more of a warning. She liked waking up and finding him in the kitchen in the morning, fixing her breakfast. She liked coming home to him at night and having dinner together and watching a movie. Her mind was spinning.

"Don't get too excited just yet. I hate to tell you but you are still going to have to deal with me." He grinned, "The apartment is right across the hall… It's almost identical to this one. I took a look around the other day before…" He stopped speaking when he noticed her tears. "What is it? Is it too much too fast? Do you not want the apartment because it's fine if you don't…"

She raised a shaking hand to cover her mouth, no longer trying to hide her tears. "I don't know what to say," She looked from him to the piece of metal still lying in the box. "You've already done so much for me…"

"Do you want to see it?" He didn't bother addressing her want to thank him, and grabbed her hand, practically dragging her across the hall.

"Wait, I thought you had an emergency?"

"Yeah, about that… I kinda lied." He grinned and grabbed the key from her hand when she made no move to unlock the door. "You think I would miss seeing your face when you saw…"

Her eyes grew and tears formed again as she walked slowly down the hallway. Here, in front of her, was a fully furnished apartment. To her right in the living room was a beautiful burgundy living room suit, completely with end tables and an entertainment center. A few painting hung on the off- white walls and there were numerous picture frames place strategically around the room; however, she noticed they were empty.

"I figured you should get to do something in your new apartment." He smiled, walking up behind her and handing her another box. "Here, open this."

"Patrick, really I can't. This is all too much. I don't know how I'll ever be able to repay you for all this… it's all so amazing." She wiped at the nonstop tears that were flowing from her eyes. 

"Will you just open the box?"

She looked up at him, blushing slightly, and pulled the cover off the box. "When…"

"Liz gave it to me." He explained. "It's from the party at the hospital a few weeks ago."

"I didn't even know she was taking pictures…" Robin said barely above a whisper, running a hand over the glass and their stilled features. She couldn't help the tug she felt in her chest: they looked so happy, almost like a couple. "Thank you so much Patrick. For everything."

He smiled as she pulled herself closer to his body, wrapping her arms around his back, her tears blending with the material of his shirt. He held her as she cried and let it all go. The fear and the pain of living everyday for the past few years with Johnathon and the tiring experiences of the past few days; she finally called the police… and their quick trip away from reality. And finally, her new apartment; the first place that was entirely hers, where she could feel safe and carefree. This was now her safe haven, the place where she could run to and disappear when things got to be just a little too tough.

"I'm sorry," Her voice was muffled in his chest. "I guess all of the emotions are finally starting to catch up to me." She pulled away from him and smiled while wiping her wet cheeks.

"No one expects you to be this unbreakable person, Robin. We don't expect you to put on a show or to hide how you are feeling…"

"But I have to be that person. I can't break down and cry and feel sorry for myself because there are people out there who are in worse shape than I am. There are people out there who have been through the same things that I have and they have come out stronger on the other side, and I have to do the same… I'm not one of those women who break down…" She shakily walked around the room, her voice shaking. "I'm not I swear," she ran a hand over the plush pillows on the couch. "It's just that no one has ever done anything like this for me… ever." She stopped speaking again when more tears clouded her vision. 

"Well…" This time, Patrick ran a tired hand through his hair, and sighed heavily. "It is your birthday and as much as this was supposed to prove to you that you aren't alone in all of this, I admit there is more to my reasoning." He pulled something from his back pocket. "This came in the mail for you the other day…" 

Robin grasped the white envelope in her shaking hands, her mind wandering with the possibilities. "They sat Johnathon's court date… November 30th."


End file.
